'I had an afternoon nap and woke up paralysed'

Stroke victim’s horrific ordeal

- BY CHRIS RICHES

Andrea Berry now helps other survivors navigate their new lives

A MUM of three has told how she went for a snooze one afternoon only to have a stroke and lose the use of one side of her body.

Andrea Berry, 57, relived her terrifying experience to help others on Stroke Prevention Day.

Meanwhile, the Stroke Association charity warned the number of victims could soar from 102,000 a year to 150,000 by 2035 unless more is done about risks including high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and vaping.

Andrea, from Cardiff, popped upstairs for a snooze in July 2024 but woke up unable to move her right side. Using her left foot to bang on the floor, she managed to alert her son.

After weeks in hospital, clot-busting drugs and months of physio, she was able to walk again. But she is still unable to use her dominant right hand.

Each day, around 280 Britons have a stroke — one every five minutes on average. But the Stroke Association predicts this will rise to 414 — or one every three-and-a-half minutes — within nine years.

In 2023 the Daily Express launched our “Let Stroke Patients Thrive” campaign for better after care and access to thrombectomies — surgery to remove blood clots.