Jennie Gow has shared an emotional update on her recovery several months after suffering a stroke.
Gow, who turned 46 on Saturday, is a familiar voice and face to Formula 1 fans. She has been a veteran of the BBC's coverage of the sport and has also appeared in the Netflix Drive to Survive series to provide insight for the newer generation of fans it introduced to F1.
In January this year, it was announced she had suffered a "serious stroke". A brief update on her condition was provided a couple of weeks later and, on Monday this week, she appeared in a short film broadcast on The One Show in which she recounted her ordeal in significant detail.
She spoke of how she developed "a terrible cough" shortly after last Christmas, which was not caused by Covid-19. Gow said she was later found collapsed in the bathroom of her family home by husband Jamie, who gave his own personal account of that moment.
"I was trying to call your name and get you to speak to me and I was just getting nothing back from you," he said. "It was the worst moment of my life." Upon hearing that line, Gow put her hand to her face and was struggling to fight back tears.
Their six-year-old daughter rushed to get cushions to put under her mother's head and passed the phone to her father so he could call for help. Gow was rushed to Frimley Park Hospital where Dr Thomas Pain was one of her consultants. He too appeared in the video package to explain how the cause of her stroke was "extremely rare".
The doctor said: "The majority of strokes are caused by a blockage in a blood vessel which supplies the brain. Your stroke was caused by a clot from the carotid artery, in the neck, a tear in the blood vessel due to coughing and a viral infection you had at the time. That clot flew up the vessel, causing the stroke on the left side of the brain."
The clot was successfully removed but had already caused significant damage. Gow was unable to speak at first but, after specialist treatment, she has made great progress. She said: "I still feel numb down my right side. My sense of taste is gone and I get very tired, but my voice is getting better.
"I'm determined to come back as strong as ever and I want to share my experiences to try and shine a light on stroke survivors – and if this can help just one person that will be enough."
