‘The gods were on our side the day my husband had a massive stroke’
Councillor Roz McCall on why her family has taken priority over the past eight months
A Strathearn ward councillor has spoken openly to the Herald on why she has had to take a back seat from council business for the past eight months.
Conservative representative Roz McCall’s family life changed dramatically in February when husband Graeme ( 57) suffered a massive stroke.
And now she wants to highlight awareness of stroke symptoms and give thanks to those who helped save her husband’s life.
Roz explained: “I was at an online parents’ evening for my younger daughter, who attends Morrison’s Academy.
“Graeme had gone up to bed earlier in the day as he had felt sick. We heard a ‘thud’ and when we went to check we found him collapsed on the floor.
“He was slurring his words and just couldn’t get up.
“We called 999 and as luck would have it an ambulance was nearby and got to us within 10 minutes.
“The paramedics were amazing and got Graeme on oxygen within half an hour and I fully believe that is why I still have my husband today.”
The prominent local figure is thankful in a sense for the lockdown period as, at any other time, she would have been at the school for parents’ evening.
However, Covid guidelines also meant it was to be four months before the family would see Graeme in person again.
Roz continued: “My other daughter is at university in Aberdeen so not only could I not see him because of the cross-council boundary restrictions but I couldn’t see her either.”
Graeme was taken to Forth Valley Hospital first and then to Edinburgh for a life-saving operation to alleviate the pressure caused by two bleeds on his brain, with no guarantees of how this would leave him.
“The surgeon was phenomenal,” said Roz, “because he managed to reduce the mass by 50 per cent with minimal damage.”
But it has been a slow road to recovery and Graeme spent many months in rehab.
He is now back home.
“Physically you wouldn’t necessarily know he has had a stroke. I can see differences because I have known him for 34 years, but he has done brilliantly with the physical side of his rehab.
“The other side, unfortunately, is the cognitive side. He e has lost the peripheral l vision in his left eye and there is a lot of work to be done to see if he will be able to drive again, and that’s down to thought process. His speech is good but he can get stuck on words.”
Roz was signed- off by a doctor for two months to cope with everything that was happening around her.
Her father, Jim Stockton, passed away recently after suffering from liver cancer and her aunt is on endoflife care in Crieff Community Hospital.
Roz added: “I apologise se profusely to everybody if I appeared to disappear off the planet at that point but my focus had to be family, and my husband and my mum.
“I would urge anybody going through the same thing to make use of the support networks that are out there.
“The NHS has fantastic support for carers if you are willing to go to them and that has been a great help for me. These things are all there if you open up. You are not on your own. The NHS has also been there for Graeme.
“The gods were on our side that day. We were home. We were able to make the phone call. The ambulance was local. There are so many reports of ambulances not getting to calls quickly.
“The support I have had has been amazing. The NHS and care system have been fantastic, Perth and Kinross Council has been fantastic and so has the Conservative party in helping me as well.”
Cllr McCall sits on several Perth and Kinross Council committees – including in strategic policy and resources, re environment and infrastructure inf and audit – as well as on the licensing board and Crieff Common Co Good Fund.
She is also convener of the planning an and development management co committee, as well as being heavily inv involved in local issues.
I apologise profusely but my focus had to be my family, my husband and my mum