Andy Phillips

🎙️Hi Guys My name is Andy Phillips & I am currently the Secretary of Pontypridd Men`s Shed I am also one of the creatives behind the Creative Design Studio Trallwng.

I was born in 1965 The year of the Mods, Army parkas, zoot suits & Scooters the legacy of a combination between a motor mechanic & a seamstress. The oldest of 4 siblings. I am now married with two children & 4 grandchildren of my own.

I used to believe in Religion. Yet Religion when I needed it the most was never there for me. A came to view religion as a tool governed by men trying to enslave others by making themselves false gods. Their teachings had to be obeyed. However that is not to say there is no God because my personal faith over the years has grown not dwindled. I truly believe that the conversations I have had with a God that cares for my predicament. has grown & helped sustain me over the years.

I believe in a God of Love & peace. Who gave up his only begotten son so that eventually when it becomes my turn to pass away into heaven I shall know that I shall truly inherit peace.

I have always been creative, Art was the only subject I was interested in at school. but was told by my father, as well as the school, careers teacher to stop daydreaming & look for a proper job that pays well rather than trying to persue my dreams. Saying that mind One of my first jobs I had when I left school in 1984

I was working as a playleader for Rhondda Play Project. Working in Boys & girls clubs & Youth centres , I spent my days learning & evenings teaching kids all about various arts & crafts, Music, DJing & my favourite subject was painting large oversized Murals. I can also remember we had built our very own dark room deep within Treorchy youth Centre, I vividly remember learning how to process pictures from 35mm film.

In 1982 my father was diagnosed with having a very rare form of pre-senile dementia otherwise known as pre senile Alzhiemers. The expected life expectancy of a Alzhiemers sufferer is between 4 to 6 years although some can live up to 20 years. We managed to scrape a meager two years from the onset of the disease to the bitter end. before my father passed away at the tender age of 46. in December 1986 This was when I started to question my religous faith.

In that two years my whole life had changed. I had met my wife who gave birth to my daughter whilst my father deteriorated before our very eyes. I even managed to argue with my mother, Who decided to completely turn her back on one half of her family. As a result We have hardly spoken since. My family turned on one another when we needed each other the most.

Following my Fathers death the family donated his brain to St Marys Hospital London. Years later they contacted myself and explained that my father had a faulty gene on the 23rd chromosome. They had also discovered a test that may or may not detect the disease.

In that moment our greatest fear was confirmed our lives were in ruines any one of us could carry this gene let alone pass it on to any offspring we had were also affected.

My personal Journey started in early 2003 having been recently diagnosed with having hypertension. According to my doctor my blood pressure was recorded at 270 over 180 My body was ready to burst and was rushed to hospital where I began a series of tests and medicines prescribed. but that was only the start of the story.

Good Friday March 18th 2003 I started to feel ill while Myself and my wife were shopping for Easter eggs. I retired to bed suffering from a severe headache. I woke on Saturday morning my pulse was racing I remember trying to wash dishes but my hand coordination would not allow me to place the plates correctly in the racks.

My wife insisted we go to the hospital & get myself checked out. I did not know it at the time but she had packed a bag expecting me to be kept in. What a night I will never forget. I got up in the middle of the night in need of the toilet and found myself in a heap flat out on the floor.

Eventually I got myself to the toilet by holding on to the edge of the beds. I do not know how long it took me to get back into bed from there. But by then I was too scared to go asleep in case I never woke again.

I started praying for the first time in years. eventually I gave in to temptation and woke up on Easter Sunday morning but something was so obviously different.

During the night, I had suffered a major stroke down my right hand side causing symptoms down my left side. Later on I was informed that I had been evidence that I had suffered three 3 strokes in rapid succession. I had walked into hospital on a saturday but a day later I was paralised down my left hand side

Eventually I left hospital some four months later relying on the use of a stick My left leg from the waste down was dead, I had managed to regained some movement in my hand mostly due to intensive playing of connect four. &hours spent in rehabilitation.

but my cognitive function was hit the hardest. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that everything was getting better and that one day I could return to work.

Until that is a year later when out of the blue. I had a visit from my line manager plus a pretty young lady from H.R came to see me at home. Only to give me the terrible news I was dreading. Good morning mr Phillips Thank you for your service We have no longer a position for you.  All I needed was more time to recover. I was instead thrown literally onto the ash tip of life.

For years I struggled. but I would not let them win. If they were not going to wait for me work then I would find myself a job only I was only kidding myself a spent a lot of money we really could not afford to loose andset myself up as an artist only I was not ready.

I was rushing things in order to proove a point. and it cost me a lot. I took years to realise that my body was lying to me. My brain was telling me I can do this. I can manage no problem.

Unfortunately my body was saying something totally different. The Stroke had left me with severe Fatigue The more I pushed my body. The worse the fatigue got. Eventually Anxiety started setting in which quickly turned to depression.

I did a number of different courses determined to get myself employable

1. A youth and communities worker.

2. A Drug and alchol addiction friends and family course

3. psychotherapy course

Since the first week spent in hospital back in 2003 I had it forced into me the need to think and act positivity was paramount to recovery. I was not a sufferer I was a Survivor. Only one in every three people become survivors.

I have never had a positive diagnosis concerning the reasons why I had suffered such a huge stroke at a very young age. My Doctor Dewer. knew this and wrote to st Marys and put in motion plans that would eventually lead to myself being told that I had the same chance of developing Alzhiemers disease as the general population.

The only reason for myself having suffered a stroke was stress and family history including Geneology

There it was in Black and white. I was due some good news and I could not have asked for any better news. I and my part of the family had proof that we did not carry the same gene as my father. I then had to bite the bullet in order to let my sibblings know that there was hope and not necessarily doom and gloom.

Just as I was getting used to living life to the full I suffered yet another stroke in 2016

It was around this time My Brother was diagnosed with having pre senile Alzheimer's disease & I believe that because of the stress it caused and the feeling of immense failure to do anything about this bloody disease.

This time the stroke affected me differently it was neither down the left nor the right but directly down the middle. It had effected me emotionally I would find myself crying for no apparent reason or laughing at the most inoppropriate times.

in March 2017 I had lost my Brother to pre-senile Alzheimer's a month later I also lost my sister. My brother was aged just aged 46 when he died the exact same age as my father.

Time had moved on and so does the science. For instance When I asked the doctors or the nurses if it could have been the stress that had brought on yet another stroke this time I was told absolutely yes it could have been. Another thing that was different was that I had been offered counselling for the first time and I got to practice what I had earlier learnt. That was when I was introduced to other survivors like myself who had survived a stroke.

A stroke survivor is someone who has experienced a stroke and lived through it. A stroke occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is interrupted or reduced, depriving brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients. This can lead to brain damage, affecting physical, cognitive, and emotional functions.

🧠 What It Means to Be a Stroke Survivor

Medical recovery: They’ve survived the initial medical crisis, which can be life-threatening.

Rehabilitation journey: Many undergo physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy to regain lost abilities.

Long-term adaptation: Survivors often adapt to lasting effects such as weakness, speech difficulties, memory issues, or emotional changes.

• Positivity can significantly aid in stroke rehabilitation by fostering a supportive environment and enhancing motivation.

• Encouragement and hope can motivate individuals to engage in rehabilitation efforts, leading to etter outcomes.

  Positivity can help individuals feel more confident and optimistic about their recovery process, which is crucial for overcoming the challenges of stroke recovery.

  Creating a positive atmosphere in rehabilitation settings can improve patient morale and encourage participation in therapy sessions.

  Supportive relationships and a positive mindset can also help individuals cope with the emotional aspects of their recovery, contributing to overall well-being.

  Incorporating positivity into stroke rehabilitation can lead to improved outcomes and a more successful recovery journey.

Relationships and a positive mindset can also help individuals cope with the emotional aspects of their recovery, contributing to overall well-being.

Incorporating positivity into stroke rehabilitation can lead to improved outcomes and a more successful recovery journey.

Trouble was my personal faith was telling me to stay positive yet most of them I found did not share my philosophy to life. I have always thought that because of everything that had happened to me including my faith to be a positive influence. and that positive affirmations would always outweigh any negitative thoughts or feelings. But unlike myself their lives were blighted and empty because they directly believed the oppositte that I did that they had survived a Stroke which had left them feeling empty inside and wish they had been better off should they had died.

Learning to become positive rather than dwelling constantly on the negative has become important to me. I have learned to come to terms with Acceptance the fact that somethings in life just cannot be changed. They are fixed points in time. Yet there are things that can be changed if only we have the courage and the positivity to change the outcome.

I truly believe Everything happens for a reason. hopefully this includes the wisdom to know the difference between the two. Since my stroke I have discovered a good tool that can be used to change the outcomes for both men & women affected by change. The use of Creative, practical & Social activities, Events, Services & Workshops in order to Promote a health through stealth approach to either loss death, disability, impairment, redundancy, unemployment etc. Combating Loneliness, Exclusion from society and the prevalence of negative thoughts.