A man was left fighting for his life and has spent 17 months in hospital after suffering a stroke.
Darren White suffered a near fatal intracranial bleed, causing a haemorrhagic stroke in September 2021. The 40-year-old has been left with left side paralysis and some cognitive impairment as a result of the severe stroke.
The former police officer, from Wigan, has spent more than 17 months on from when he was admitted to hospital for emergency surgery, but now wants to come home to finish his recovery, reports the Manchester Evening News.
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On the day he was taken to hospital, Darren's wife Jo got a message from her daughter who had just got home from school – she had noticed something was wrong. Sounding slurred in a phone call to his wife, Jo asked a friend to check on Darren, who swiftly called 999 after paying him a visit.
Shortly after arriving at hospital, the family was told that Darren had been taken to surgery to operate on a "very aggressive" intracranial bleed injury and that he may not survive. During a time when visiting was restricted due to Covid pressures in hospital, Jo praised the hospital staff for their life-saving work and care.
She said: “I am so very thankful that Darren was saved by the amazing surgeon. We were given the bleakest picture, but the doctors also still had hope. The ICU (Intensive Care Unit) was tough, the girls were taken to see their daddy and be involved right from the start.
“I couldn’t not include them. We didn’t know if any visit to see him would be their last. We were only allowed one hour per day, again due to Covid. We played music, rubbed cream on his feet and painted his toenails, something the surgeon commented on when he came out of surgery, lots of chatting and doing what we needed to get through and to try and get a response.
“I was commended by the ICU staff for bringing the girls, they said it was lovely to see children on the unit and have them involved.”
After more than 10 days unresponsive, Darren regained consciousness and has been on the road to recovery since – although there is no clarity on whether he can get back to where he was physically and cognitively.
Jo, who described her husband as "dedicated daddy", revealed how challenging the last 17 months have been for her, Abbie, 13, and Lola, eight.
She added: “It has been horrendous. At the time it felt really surreal because we were living in crisis mode. We have had amazing support from friends and family who have cared for us when we spent days going to intensive care.
"They have been a massive support helping with the children, the shopping and making sure we were fed.”
After the "amazing" job done by the neurological rehabilitation team at Trafford General Hospital, Jo explained that Darren still has to use a wheelchair, but has his speech, language and long-term memory almost entirely back to what it was. He is having speech therapy and still struggles with his short-term memory.
He is still rehabilitating and his family want him home so they can do that together. But the next step is huge, and comes which a financial roadblock, as he now requires a house that can facilitate his needs.
Their home, in Wigan, needs a completely new extension to give Darren a downstairs bedroom and wet room. The disability grant available from Wigan Council of £30,000 only covers a small portion of that – which is why family friend Lara Dickinson set up a GoFundMe page to help them find the additional £50,000 they need.
Jo said she was not keen to ask for people’s help for the funds at first, but realised that the family desperately wanted to be together again.
She said: “His personality hasn’t changed at all. Darren is still Darren. He does have a massively positive mentality which has been good to help his recovery. He has been really positive as he wants to get better for his girls.
“He would love to walk again but that is not a given and we don’t know if he will. We have to keep that hope and keep trying. He is the most amazing daddy and has always been involved. He was dedicated to his job as a police officer but when he came home he was dedicated to his children.”
Darren worked on the frontline for GMP between 2003 and 2019 before he joined the force’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit in 2019. The police have been a big part of the support team surrounding the family.
She also noted how the charities Headway, Stroke Association, Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre and The Brain Charity all reached out offering their advice and support to her and the girls. Now, having not known much about strokes before, Jo wants to raise awareness of just how life changing and impactful they can be to families.
Jo said: “I never realised that anyone with a brain could have a stroke. Any age can be impacted. It is not just an older person that can suffer from a stroke and then they are back recovering in the next few weeks. It can be really debilitating and life changing.”
There are a number of fundraising events coming up in the near future to help generate more cash for the family, with a charity car wash on Sunday, March 5 being one of many to come. Leigh Fire Station will be hosting the event between 10am and 3pm.
To donate to the GoFundMe page, click here.
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