Joanne Fairclough
Jo has spent her life helping others. From her time as a nanny to two children she adored, to qualifying as a nurse and devoting her career to support children with life-threatening injuries and illnesses. There’s no denying she’s made an incredible difference to people’s lives.
A few years ago, Jo experienced a seizure. Following a biopsy, she then suffered a stroke. Life suddenly changed, and Jo needed the care and support of her family and friends. This transition wasn’t easy for Jo. Despite the difficult journey she’s been through, Jo’s warm personality, laughter and strength is felt by everyone. She always goes above and beyond for those around her, which never goes unnoticed.
With the help of her dear friend, Lucy, Jo opens up to share her story with us today.
Family, friendship and a thriving career
Jo was a nanny when she left college, working for a family down in Richmond, London. Jo adored looking after two young children called Claire and James.
In her early twenties, Jo became a qualified nurse and started working at Sheffield Children’s Hospital on the Intensive Care Unit. This involved caring for very sick children, training other nurses to use specialist machines and also retrieving poorly children from other hospitals across the country.
In Jo’s spare time, she really enjoyed going out with her friends, dancing and going to the theatre. Jo liked crafting, making cards, Christmas crackers and other interesting things. Jo loved to go skiing with her husband and made trips to Austria, Italy, Canada, Andorra and Finland.
From being a nurse to receiving care
In 2020, Jo’s elderly mother moved into Jo’s family home with the intention of Jo looking after her. Unfortunately, in January 2022 Jo was found on her bedroom floor after suffering a seizure. She was taken to hospital where she remained on intensive care. On a couple of occasions they doubted whether she would pull through.
In February of that year, Jo was moved to the Hallamshire Hospital onto one of the neurological wards. Jo lost a lot of her vision, her speech and the use of her right arm. This was due to inflammation of her brain – the cause is yet unknown. Jo had two brain biopsies later in 2022. Unfortunately, the second one lead to Jo having a stroke. Although her symptoms didn’t alter much, it just added to what was already a physical and mental challenge.
Jo’s journey to recovery
Jo has made great progress with the support of her neurologist, epilepsy team, impaired vision team and her speech and language nurse. Whilst Jo continues to struggle putting sentences together and choosing the right words to say, but she has learnt other ways to communicate (such as physical hand gestures). Aphasia prevents her attending any appointments on her own as she cannot answer questions like ‘what is your name.’ Jo cannot relay information to others, medical professionals or family.
Jo was introduced to the charity, Aphasia Support, by her speech and language therapist. From her very first visit to the Doncaster Aphasia Cafe, Jo felt completely uplifted and gained so much confidence being with friends who were experiencing the same challenges. Aphasia can be so isolating and we’ve met lots of friends who have lost their confidence as a result, affecting their lack of self worth and feeling part of any social network.
Seeking support
One of the things Jo asks for is that people give her time to try and talk, or communicate, however she feels she can. People have a habit of jumping in with a selection of words, or ending her sentences for her. Although on the most part, this is done with good intention, Jo often feels rushed or not listened to. Understandably, this leads to lots of frustration, anxiety and low mood. These emotions can also be contributing factors to Jo having seizures. As Jo’s best friend, I’m so proud of her, and I know Jo is proud of herself. Jo has grown so much in confidence and continues to go from strength to strength.
We encourage everyone to read Aphasia Support’s article guided by people with aphasia. You’ll find practical tips giving you the tools you need to help people like Jo communicate with confidence.
