'I was told I'd never fully recover, now I'm cycling 50 miles for charity'

A SWANSEA man who suffered a stroke that left part of his body paralysed has now set his eyes on completing a 50-mile ride to raise money for charity.

- SHAURYA SHAURYA

Warren Smart suffered a stroke last September and was told he would never be able to make a 100% recovery.

In less than an year, the determined 58-year-old from Three Crosses will be competing in the annual Jiffy's Cancer 50 Challenge, which will see him and hundreds of others cycle 50 miles from the Cardiff City Stadium to the Lighthouse restaurant in Swansea's Bracelet Bay on August 17.

"The consultant said I would never make a 100% recovery. He said, 'You will recover, but you will never be the same again,'" Warren said.

His illness, that started from a bout of vertigo, quickly emerged as something more sinister.

"I was supposed to meet up with some friends for a bike ride but I had to call them to say I had vertigo and couldn't go," Warren said. "The next day I checked my blood pressure and it was very high.

"I was directed to Morriston Hospital and they confirmed I'd had a stroke. It was quite minor at that time but I then had what they call a decompensation event on September 15 and I was more or less paralysed down my right side.

"I couldn't walk. I couldn't feed myself. I couldn't move my right arm or leg at all."

The stroke was a surprise to Warren as he had tried to keep himself fit and healthy. "It came as a complete and utter shock," he said. "There are other people who have unhealthy lifestyles compared to mine, but I was the one who had a stroke.

"They said it was probably due to lifting heavy objects. I'd lifted a piano with my son the weekend before the stroke, and I'd also helped to lift PA equipment.