A West Lothian dad who suffered a severe stroke when he turned on his car engine has been left unable to speak for three years.
James Rosie, from West Calder, had been at the shops the day before a family trip to Spain in March 2019.
The 51-year-old got back into his car, and switched on the engine when he suddenly realised he couldn’t move.
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Hours later his wife Joanne was shocked to find two police officers on her doorstep with her husband’s car keys, wallet and phone.
According to the Daily Record , James was rushed to the ICU at St John’s Hospital after doctors found swelling in his brain.
Medics realised that he had developed Aphasia, a condition brought on by a stroke hindering the ability to speak, understand speech and to read and write.
Wife Joanne said: "James had no warning of what was about to happen.
"He only has a vague memory of turning on the car engine and then not being able to move.
"The police told me he’d been in an accident, and they thought he’d had a stroke.
"He ended up in the ICU for 24 hours because of the swelling on his brain.”
The Aphasia has left verbal communication almost impossible for James.
But he and Joanne had never heard of the condition before and the couple were told that James was likely to never speak again.
After three months, James is now back in his home, which has now been specially adapted for him.
Joanne works full-time for the Royal Bank of Scotland and says that son Mathew, 16, is helping James adjust to the new reality.
The couple had struggled to adapt to their new life when he returned home and it often became a frustrating and lonely experience for each of them.
James' aphasia has made verbal communication almost impossible for him.
James, continues to live with the after-effects of his stroke, and had to give up his job as an apprentice training officer, which he started after a long career in the NHS.
The family both found a lifeline in a weekly online Aphasia support group, organised by Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS).
James was able to meet other stroke survivors with the condition, while Joanne was able to join in with partners and carers who gave her the support and confidence she was once missing.
Joanne said: "James gets confidence from being part of a peer group.
"He’s seeing others who are all in the same situation as he is but at different levels and stages.
"It’s been such a positive experience for both of us. Life has changed so much, and it’s difficult."
CHSS estimates around 2,400 stroke survivors are diagnosed with aphasia each year in Scotland but many are unaware of it.
James chose to share his story as part of Aphasia Awareness Month in the hope of helping others with the condition so they don't need to deal with it alone.
Jackie Slater, Aphasia Development Manager at CHSS, said: “Aphasia can be very frightening and isolating. In an instant people’s lives are completely turned upside down by the condition, but many people have never even heard of aphasia until it affects them or a loved one. They’re forced to become experts overnight.
“With the help of people like James, who are bravely sharing their stories, we want to make sure that more people in Scotland are aphasia aware."
