STROKE
After experiencing stroke, Lisa Beaumont refused to let it defeat her - and her formidable attitude has seen her rebuild her life and continue to achieve huge goals along the way, inspiring others to see how it is possible to thrive after such life-changing illness.
‘Recovery is a journey you must keep going’ NR Times learns more about Lisa and her work as a marketing entrepreneur, leading digital advisor, passionate supporter of fellow survivors, and mother who will never give up on her ongoing neuro-rehab journey Eleven years on from Lisa Beaumont having the two strokes which devastated the life she knew and loved, she continues to experience the journey that is recovery, with highs and lows along the way. Having spent more than year in hospital after her life-changing brain haemorrhage in 2011 - which left her as Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 3 and having to re-learn to walk after being left paralysed down her left side - Lisa has recently encountered another hurdle in her journey, where she lost her mobility and was confined to her bedroom for weeks on end. But never one to let a setback defeat her, Lisa has continued her rehabilitation with determination, overcoming the searing pain and ulcer caused by problems with her orthotic to regain the ability to walk and enjoy the pleasure of being outside in the summer sunshine. “It has been a huge setback. Not only could I not walk over to my desk in my bedroom, I couldn’t walk downstairs, I couldn’t go outside. I could only see the lovely weather from my window,” says Lisa, now 54. “I’ve had 11 years where I have been fixated by wanting to walk. It has been ridiculously distressing that I can’t walk and continue with my physio regime, and the daily walk up and down our garden path to improve my walking ability.
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“But to help me through this, I have been going back to my thought processes from the beginning. I’ve always believed you must always focus on what you can do, and not on what you can’t do. “Although I had a period where I was not able to walk, I could do bed exercises. I did more and more bed exercises to try and keep up with my fitness. I did what I could do, rather than focus on what I couldn’t. “I also remembered that this is a journey and you must get through whatever confronts you along the way. Just when you think everything's going well, you might hit a setback. But you keep going.” And while the journey since January 2011 when Lisa had her stroke has seen many challenges, there have also been many positives - from Lisa establishing her own marketing business to becoming a digital
expert with such esteem in the healthcare space she works with two of the bestknown names within it - NHS Innovation and NHS-affiliated neuro-rehab platform NeuroProactive. She also supports other stroke survivors the majority of whom are of working age through the creation of Different Strokes West Kent, of which she is chair. “I think I’m a great example of the need for long-term rehabilitation when you have a stroke in working age,” says Lisa. “And 11 years in, I have had the highs and the lows. Working for the NHS is the pinnacle of my recovery to date and I am privileged to now be able to help others.” Lisa was 43, the mother of two primary schoolaged daughters, when her stroke occurred one morning as she woke to go to work. An award-winning marketing professional and