One morning in October 2016, Mark suddenly collapsed on to the bed. He couldn’t speak or swallow and his face had fallen on one side. His wife, Jacqueline and their daughter Grace immediately recognised the signs of stroke and called for an ambulance straight away. He was thrombolysed within 90 minutes and has since made a very good recovery. Mark has said that he still experiences fatigue which is common after stroke and admits his stroke has changed his physical strength. Mark has since returned to work in radio at Greatest Hits radio, at his podcast company Listen and at Wisebuddah, the radio jingles and imaging company.

Mark says: “Having a stroke came as a complete surprise and being unable to speak was frightening. My wife being there to spot the signs of my stroke so quickly undoubtedly changed my life. Within minutes we got help and, due to the excellent treatment I received at my local hospital stroke unit, I’m lucky to have made a very good recovery and I’m now back on the radio doing what I love.”