Natasha Blackburn

I'm taking part in the Great North Run 2025 as part of #TeamStroke

I am running for #TeamStroke for the Great North Run 2025 in memory of my Granda. One of life's good guys that I was lucky enough to have as my grandad! 

Granda was taken from us unexpectedly after suffering a brain haemorrhage which caused him to have a stroke. He had a bad headache when he was going to bed and when 999 were called  they said if it's not urgent then just monitor him. The hospital didn't seem to think it was urgent and said they were really busy and to call back if anything changed. A few hours later he slurred a response when nanna asked him a question. By this point, he had suffered with a brain haemorrhage and was quickly rushed to hospital. Granda didn't respond to us verbally after this point but would still squeeze our hands to respond. As a family, we sat round his bedside for a week, sharing stories, playing him music and telling him how much we loved him and how amazing he was. A week later on my birthday, we got the call that we needed to get to the hospital quickly as we could as he didn't have long left. We never made it that day to say goodbye to him. We were only ten minutes from the hospital when we got the news he had gone. We always say that he didn't want us all sat in hospital with him on my birthday as he was so selfless like that.

Granda, we miss your silly jokes and your young hearted soul! Thanks for being the best! We are so lucky to have had all the time with you that we did. We love you so much. 

I cherish the days when you picked us up from school and stayed until mum or dad got home and could only cook hard boiled eggs for dinner.

There are over 1.3 million stroke survivors in the UK, with 100,000 strokes happening in the UK each year. That's one stroke every five minutes.

We're here to support people to rebuild their lives after stroke. We believe everyone deserves to live the best life they can after stroke, so we work with the stroke community to make sure people affected by stroke get the very best care and support. We rely on your support to provide vital services, campaign for better stroke care and fund research into preventative and rehabilitative treatments.

I urge you that if you think something is wrong with a loved one and even if it seems like a small symptom don't be convinced it is not important enough even if medical professionals tell you so. If you do anything, research how amazing this charity is, I hope you never have to use their services for yourself or a loved one!