Holly Merle

I'm taking part in the TCS London Marathon as part of #TeamStroke

I am running the 2025 London marathon in memory of my Grandad Stuart and Janet, the mother of my long term boyfriend Will. 

These were two important people in my life who have both sadly passed away, and were affected by Strokes.

My grandad had a stroke in 2012, only 8 years after recovering from a heart attack. The stroke really affected his mental and physical health. The stroke changed him from a completely independent person to someone who was reliant on others. 

He was left constantly frustrated with his lack of mobility, and found simple daily tasks a struggle. 

He lived with the effects of his stroke for 10 years and over this time I saw how this dramatically impacted the life of my grandmother too. As time went on the support they both needed became almost impossible to manage on their own.

Grandad passed away in December 2022.

Janet was my boyfriends mum and someone who had also become incredibly important in my life too. We regularly stayed at her house and spent quality time together, going for lunches, dinners and watching sports.

In under two weeks my boyfriend had gone from thinking his mum was unwell and needed support and rest, to having one of the most important people in his life taken away with no warning.

Janet was a healthy and active lady who regularly enjoyed golf with friends, watching live sport and spending lots of quality time with her family.

Less than a week before her passing, Janet was taken into hospital. After some tests, doctors discovered that she had suffered a transient ischaemic attach (TIA) however they were confident that with the right treatment and care she would make a full recovery from her hospital bed.

However only a few days later Janet had suffered from a full stroke and was being rushed to Bradford Royal Infirmary for thrombolysis treatment. Despite treatment, Janet suffered from a brain haemorrhage and fell into a coma a matter of hours later.

Janet passed away aged 58 on 21st August 2023.

I will be raising and running in their memory.

Finally I turn 26 this April. 26 years for 26.2 Miles. 

A reminder to be thankful for what I have done so far in my life and embrace the challenge that comes my way going forward.