After my stroke in December 2004, I was determined to get back to as many of my previous activities as possible. My attempt at rock climbing in summer 2006 caught the attention of my rehab team, not least because of the photos taken by Amanda. I was soon asked if I would be interviewed for an article in the local paper. This is the article:

Rock climber Keith overcomes effects of a stroke

Croydon Advertiser Friday November 17, 2006
by Monica Hawley monicahawley@croydonadvertiser.co.uk

Rock climbing, ballroom dancing and singing are not hobbies you would associate with someone who has suffered a stroke. But less than two years after being admitted to Mayday, Keith Weddell is back doing the things he loves - and says it's thanks to the hospital's community neuro-rehabilitation team.

This summer he scaled the heights of the Peak District, an incredible achievement considering that when he suffered a stroke at the age of 41, he was barely able to move. After waking at 5am with a very bad headache and unable to move properly, Keith was fairly sure he'd had a stroke. "It took me by surprise," said Keith, who had been relatively fit and healthy before. He was in hospital for four weeks over Christmas 2004 before spending six months getting back on his feet with the rehab team in Broad Green.

Keith spent two to three days a week doing exercises to get his muscles and co-ordination working and undergoing occupational therapy to get his hands working again. "I went in using a Zimmer frame and by the end of the six months I was walking with one stick," he said. "They do fantastic things down there."

"It's so hard just to get back to what you were doing before," Keith explained. "I didn't think it would take so long." Keith's right side stopped working and he was left exhausted, although his speech wasn't too badly affected. But after just six months of rehabilitation, Keith, from Theresa's Walk, Sanderstead, went back to work part-time as a civil servant for the Ministry of Defence. He now works full time, doing two days a week from home. His rehabilitation may have been helped by the fact that his wife Alison banned him from using buses and the Tube after the July 7 bombings and he had to walk the mile-and-a-half to his office from Victoria.

Both Alison and Keith used to sing with the Philharmonia Chorus and travelled around Europe, even singing with Pavarotti. But the stroke affect the muscles in Keith's throat, which meant he lost the ability to sing. He said: "Just after I came out of hospital I went to my grandmother's 90th birthday and when I tried to sing happy birthday, nothing came out. My singing teacher, Hamish Pitceathly, came to me every week for a year and basically rebuilt my voice from scratch. That's priceless."

Alison and Keith, who married in 2003, learnt to waltz for their wedding and have taken up ballroom dancing again. "I spent a long time just trying to stay upright," said Keith, who grew up in Coulsdon and went to school in Shirley.

Keith recently spoke at a stroke seminar which gave him the chance to say thanks. "Good things come out of bad things," he said. "You meet some amazing people. It's nice to give them something back. Even if it's just to say I'm having a great time doing stupid things because you helped me to get better."

His next target is to climb Snowdon next year. "I don't know if I can do it yet, but if you don't try you're never going to know," he said. "My right arm still won't work properly, I have problems with my eye, pain from dead nerves and I can't balance properly. But you can't keep dwelling on that, you've got to get on with your life and make the most of what you've got."