We also paid tribute to Pippa Tyrrell, who championed the power of lived experience, and whose leadership helped pave the way for truly patient-centred stroke care.

She always strove for fairness and, above all, “was an absolutely lovely human being.”

Moving forward, we need more information about stroke experiences and interventions to inform future guidelines.

Practitioners also need protected time to build the therapeutic relationships that are vital for recovery & development, so survivors can progress in their recoveries.

“The therapeutic relationship is pivotal. By setting successive goals, and providing clear direction, stroke patients and survivors can continue to rebuild their lives.”

But the therapeutic process is undervalued and under resourced, because it suffers from a lack of “bling”.

Why are patients on dialysis more likely to have strokes?

The cause needs to be investigated further, but Prof Mark, showed that patients on dialysis experience a drop in blood flow to the brain, possibly because it has to pass in and out of a machine.

Thanks to stroke survivors Caleb, Stacie, Sarah and Linda for sharing their experiences, and helping us to understand a little bit more about what it means to be a survivor.