‘I was a prisoner in my own home after stroke’
ANCIENT MARINERS CHAIRMAN GETTING HIS LIFE BACK ON TRACK THANKS TO CLUB
THE chairman of Grimsby’s Walking Football club, the Ancient Mariners, has been using the club as a way to get back to normality after he suffered a devastating stroke in November last year.
Peter Cribb, 70, had to contend with the isolation of lockdown on top of his recovery.
Peter had a record 88 players attend the first training session following the easing of lockdown restrictions on Monday. However, the stroke has sadly stopped him from playing his beloved football and he can no longer play in or referee the matches held at Bradley Pitches.
But it hasn’t stopped him from rebuilding his life or being involved in the club.
“It all happened out of the blue. It was about 10.30pm and I noticed my head began to feel a little fuzzy. I just thought I was tired and decided to head to bed.
“In the morning, I tried getting up when my wife noticed that my face had dropped and we soon realised that I’d had a stroke in the middle of the night.
“She rang the ambulance immediately and I was blue lighted to Scunthorpe hospital due to the severity of it. My emotions were running wild the whole four days I was there.
“I kept telling myself I wanted to go home and that I wasn’t dying in hospital, I was really scared. “After I was given the full diagnosis, I began to get even more scared. Your head starts racing and you automatically think the worst. “One thing I remember is a nurse grabbing my hand and telling me I’ll be OK. It was so lovely for a stranger to help me like she did, I’ll never forget that.”
Following the stroke, Peter spent a long time at home, recuperating and dealing with the stress of lockdown. “The first two national coronavirus lockdowns I’d been shielding so I got used to being at home, but the third really knocked me back. “Mentally, I couldn’t see an end and I just became down and depressed by it. “Shielding kept me indoors, exercise was too strenuous and my walking stick held me back from doing things around the house.
“The only thing that kept me going was the Ancient Mariners daily quiz. It was as though I was a prisoner, trapped in my own home. I wanted to do so many things, but I just couldn’t.”
Now, Peter has started to get his life back and still helps out with the Ancient Mariners as much as he can.
He said: “When Boris Johnson announced the roadmap out of lockdown, my spirits lifted.
“I could finally see an end and it took me from strength to strength. “I’m halfway through learning to drive again, which has been fabulous and a major step forward in my recovery. I’m just so happy I can finally take my granddaughter to college or pop to the shops. “Being back at the Ancient Mariners has really helped me.
“It’s been OK talking to everyone over the phone, but nothing beats a face-to-face conversation with someone.
“We all look after one another, it’s like having a second family and it does me no end of good”.