An emotional family reunion for stroke dad who was given just 48 hours to live
A Sunderland dad who was given just 48 hours to live after a major stoke has celebrated his birthday more than 10 years on, with a surprise visit from his daughter.
Terry Steinberg was left severely brain damaged from a stroke aged 50, with doctors predicting that he had just hours to live.
The dad-of-five from Ryhope collapsed at home on April 30, 2010, and was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital, where doctors told the family to say goodbye.
Terry’s stroke had left him paralysed from the neck down and was only able to communicate with head and eye movements.
But Terry’s family refused to give up and were overjoyed when he began to show minor signs of improvement.
After nearly a year in hospital, in March 2011, Terry returned home with wife Clair Steinberg and their daughter Miley, but required 24-hour care.
The stroke left Terry unable to walk or stand and speech is difficult.
Clair, 42, cared for Terry full-time, before he moved to care home Bryony Lodge on Leechmere Road, Sunderland, where he has lived for three years.
Now more than a decade after his stroke, Terry celebrated his 61st birthday with Clair and Miley, 11.
Miley and Clair now live in Cornwall and had not been able to visit Terry since January due to the pandemic and lockdown restrictions.
They drove up to Sunderland on Saturday, August 8, to surprise Terry on his birthday, with Miley jumping out of a wrapped present.
Clair said: “Terry and Miley have such a wonderful relationship, their faces light up when they see each other.
"Terry’s stroke happened two weeks before Miley's first birthday and there was a one in a million chance of him pulling through, but he did. "He is a miracle man. “Miley and Terry have missed each other incredibly and I thought this would be the best present ever for his birthday.
"It was such an emotional moment.
“Thank you to the care home staff for helping to make that happen for Terry and Miley and for keeping everyone safe during the pandemic.”