The health service states: “Like all organs, the brain needs the oxygen and nutrients provided by blood to function properly.”
If the supply of blood is restricted or stopped like during a stroke, brain cells begin to die which can lead to brain injury, disability and possibly death. This means that acting quickly during this emergency is crucial.
Chris Darch is now paralysed down his left side and in a wheelchair but he is coaching disability sport.
He said: “I am now paralysed on my left-hand side, so I had a lot of rehabilitation work to do before I could even think of being sent home.
“My main aim was to get out, to get home. That was my goal from the start. The doctors told me I was very lucky to be alive, that I shouldn’t have made it.”