Greame Cadas from Hartlepool has had a passion for sport his entire life. The 49-year-old has often put this love to good use as well, completing a number of fundraisers for a range of charities…
He raised £5,000 for the Denise Taylor cancer trust and Bradley Lowery by running up Ben Nevis twice in two days and also completed the Great Manchester Cycle.
One sport he particularly loves is football he had been playing for and helping run his local team Hartlepool TECH for a number of years.
However he could never have foreseen that this passion would lead him to one day have a stroke.
On Easter weekend in 2017, Graeme was playing for his beloved TECH when he collided heads with an opposition player.
He thought nothing of it as he claims he felt fine afterwards but it wasn’t until two days later that the effects of this would fully reveal themselves.
After enjoying a takeaway and a night in on the Sunday, he woke up on the Monday to make himself a cup of tea and go back to bed.
Not long afterwards his son Jack, who was 15 at the time, found him on the floor suffering a stroke and immediately called an ambulance.
Graeme says his memory is very blurred after this, with the next thing he can remember being waking up in hospital.
Doctors would later reveal that this was due to that innocuous head collision he suffered, much to his surprise.
“I didn’t even know I was having a stroke at the time,” Graeme said. “It was a complete shock when the doctor said it had come about from heading that person, I couldn’t believe it.
“The biggest shock was that I thought a stroke was just an old person’s injury or illness.”
From this Graeme had to undergo months of rehabilitation where he relearned to walk and talk but he had nothing but praise for the staff that helped him
“I was very lucky as to when it happened,” he said. “It was pre-COVID and the NHS staff and nurses were amazing.
“I had physios coming three times a week to my house. I lost about a year but they helped me do my own rehab which I still do to this day.”
Because the stroke occurred in the left side of his brain he can no longer fully use his right side but admits he is extremely lucky he didn’t lose his speech permanently.
For many this would stop them ever attempting sport again, but Graeme’s friend Mario did not want to let his enthusiasm go to waste.
He has now set up a fundraiser to get Graeme a specially designed left-handed trike that he can use to get out and resume exercising.
The device will cost around £4,000 with Graeme overwhelmed by the support he has received so far.
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “People have been so generous it’s unbelievable, I can’t wait to get on it.”
As well as getting him active again Graeme is looking forward to using the trike to continue his fundraising efforts
This charity work is something that stays in the Cadas family, with his wife Amanda completing the Stroke Association’s Resolution Run alongside Jack in 2018 for the cause.
One thing his stroke has not stopped him doing is getting involved with Hartlepool TECH, which he now helps manage after stepping back from the pitch.
It only took Graeme three months to get back involved with the team and he said he was ‘delighted’ to jump at the chance of helping out again.
The club are now returning this favour with a race night to try and raise the last £500 he needs to purchase the trike.
Graeme constantly thanked those who helped him while speaking to NR Times, but admitted the person he owes the most to is his son who’s actions saved his life on that day four years ago.
To donate to his fundraiser and find out more,
.
