West Lothian man diagnosed with same condition as Bruce Willis after he suffered a stroke
| Author | Sophie Buchan |
| Published date | 22 June 2022 |
| Publication title | EdinburghLive (Scotland) |
People with Aphasia often have trouble with the four main ways people understand and use language. This includes reading, listening, speaking as well as typing or writing.
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James Rosie, is now sharing his story in the hopes of making Scotland more Aphasia aware. The 51-year-old from West Calder suffered a stroke back in 2019 and at the time, neither James nor his wife Joanne had heard of the condition.
Because of the 2019 events, James has been left with severe Aphasia making verbal communication almost impossible for him. Because of this, it is said to have completely changed his and his family's lives.
Many people began talking about the condition after Hollywood star Bruce Willis announced in March he is now living with the condition. And now the couple hope they can raise more awareness by talking about what they have been through.
Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS), who have supported the couple, estimates that around 2,400 stroke survivors are diagnosed with aphasia following their stroke each year in Scotland. However, many people in Scotland still don't know what it is.
Speaking about the moments leading up to the life-changing event, Joanne said: "The stroke happened on March 30, 2019. We were going to Spain the next day. James got up as usual and went to the shops. Some hours later I had the police at the door, holding his wallet, car keys and phone.
"They told me he'd been in an accident, and they thought he'd had a stroke. The doctors at St John's said it was a severe stroke, and he was in ICU for 24 hours because of swelling on the brain. James had no warning of what was going to happen. He only has a vague memory of turning on the engine, then not being able to do anything."
Discussing about what they have had to deal with since the stroke three years on, Joanne is now helping James adjust to his new life alongside their son, Matthew, 16, with the family being told it's unlikely James will speak again.
After spending three months in hospital, James is now on medication for seizures that began a year after the initial stroke and sadly...
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