A community care worker in Harrogate is preparing to conquer Ben Nevis to mark her recovery after two years of serious health problems.
Mother-of-four Lisa Wilding was just 35 when, in September 2016, she suffered a stroke out of the blue while behind the wheel of her car.
“I’d always suffered from migraines since I was young,” said Lisa. “When the stroke happened, I’d had a headache for about nine days and I really wasn’t feeling well, but I thought it was just a bad migraine.”
Lisa suffered a stroke at the wheel, writing off her car, and was rushed to hospital for urgent treatment. As investigations into the cause of her stroke continued, doctors discovered a tumour in her heart, leading Lisa to undergo open heart surgery in early 2017.
Lisa said:
You don’t expect something like that to happen at my age.
I’m so glad they found the tumour and they could remove it, although they don’t think it was linked to the stroke – they still don’t know what caused that.”
Following her illness, Lisa suffered with anxiety and was nervous about going back to work at Continued Care, a Harrogate-based home care provider. However, with the support of her managers and colleagues, she returned part time in January 2018 and her confidence has grown ever since.
Lisa said:
I’d only been working there about three months when I had my stroke, so I didn’t expect my job to be waiting for me when I was ready to go back.
I couldn’t have asked for more support from an employer. They really cared about my health and helped me to get back to work steadily when I was well enough.
As part of her recovery, Lisa began walking more and developed a love of the outdoors. Now, she’s putting her new-found hobby to the test by climbing Ben Nevis on Saturday, July 28, raising money for the British Heart Foundation to fund further research into cases like hers.
She’ll be joined by her partner, Simon Lovell, and the pair have set a target of raising £400 for the charity. Their funds have been boosted by a contribution of £100 from Continued Care.
Director Samantha Harrison said:
We were all very shocked to hear how seriously ill Lisa was, so it’s wonderful now to see her back at work and doing so well.
We support all our staff when they take on challenges for good causes and when we heard Lisa was planning to climb Ben Nevis we all wanted to contribute.
The British Heart Foundation does a lot of good work not just for people like Lisa but for many of our clients and other members of the Harrogate community living with a wide range of heart problems. We’re proud to support Lisa to raise money for them and wish her all the best for her walk.
To donate to Lisa’s fundraising, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lisa-wilding2
