'Every day is good' says Black Isle survivor who 'escaped fate worse than death'
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TEN years ago it was just a normal day in the life of Black Isle councillor Craig Fraser.
He was preparing to start a night shift as an advisor at a call centre in Inverness.
The routine journey would have take about 15 minutes on his beloved motor-bike.
But events that evening were to change the course of his life forever - not least his passion for motor cycling.
Indeed had he set off on his Honda Africa Twin RD07 he would have been on the A9 and might not have been here to tell the tale.
For Craig, then aged 49, suffered a brain haemorrhage at home about 5.15pm on the evening of May 11, 2009.
He described it at the time as like having a 'brain freeze'.
Fortunately his wife Dor is a former nurse and recognised the symptoms immediately and contacted the emergency services.
Craig was rushed from his home in Cromarty to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness where he underwent a CT scan immediately.
The scan revealed he had a stroke - a bleed in his brain - and for a while his life was very much in the balance.
"They couldn't stop the pressure building up in my head so I was rushed to the neuro-surgical unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary."
Fortunately medical staff there stabilised his condition without the need for surgical intervention.
A decade on he outwardly shows no signs of the debilitating effects stroke victims can often get as a legacy – including paralysis.
But on a daily basis he has had to make adjustments to his life to deal with the consequences of his brush with death – which indeed would have had a different outcome had he been on his motor cycle when he suffered the haemorrhage.
"My main problem is I still have short term memory loss and cognitive issues so I have to write everything down.
"I have coping mechanisms and because of that most people don't know that I have had a stroke which is fortunately.
"Life is too short and I treasure and try and make the most of every day. I sometimes joke that had I had the stroke on my bike I might have damaged the paintwork. But really it would have been much more serious than that."
Statistically, Mr Fraser recognises he has been very fortunate.
From his research and speaking to other stroke victims and medical experts he found out that an estimated 10-15 per cent of patients die before reaching the hospital.
Moreover, mortality rate reaches as high as 40 per cent within the first week, and about 50 per cent die in the first six months.
"The worst outcome for some is they are 'locked in' which means they can only move their eyes and that must be worse than death so in the big scheme of things I got off lightly."
Craig had to give up his work as a call centre advisor. He sold his bike within weeks and recently donated his biking equipment to a charity shop.
But he looks as his experience as a having a positive impact on the life he has today.
"I look upon myself as a recipient of a stroke rather than a victim."
He has continued to serve the Black Isle ward as a councillor and recalls with gratitude the support he received at the time from fellow Black Isle councillor Billy Barclay who had come through heart surgery the year before he took ill.
He has also spoken at a Cross Party Working Group in Heart Disease and Strokes at Hollyrood and he said he will be forever in debt to the Chest Heart and Stroke Association in the aftermath of his illness for their support and advice as he came to terms with adjustments he needed to make to his life.
"As a councillor I now have more time to spend in the community meeting people.
"I could no longer cope with enclosed spaces where there are lots of people and that's why I had to give up my job.
"I also suffer from fatigue but I am fortunate to have such a strong support network including the people of Cromarty.
"Every day is a good day and I'm looking forward later this month to my stepdaughter's wedding later this month and then later in the year my stepson gets married so there is much to look forward to."
