A NEWPORT man who was just 26 years old when he suffered a stroke has said his happiness has "shot up" since he began attending a city support group.

Colin Jones, 54, suffered a massive stroke on May 12, 1992 - just three days before his 27th birthday.

“My fiancé at the time told me that I didn’t look well and that she was going to get a doctor,” he said.

Mr Jones felt dizzy and was vomiting profusely, and when the doctor arrived he took one look and rang for an ambulance straight away.

But, as the doctor was phoning the ambulance, Mr Jones suddenly dropped to the floor and began having a violent fit.

South Wales Argus:

(Colin Jones aged 54 from Newport who suffered a stroke at the age of 26. Credit: Mark Lewis)

“The doctor thought I was having an epileptic fit,” he added.

After arriving at the hospital, Mr Jones was taken for an MRI scan where they found a blood clot the size of a golf ball on his brain.

He was kept in the Royal Gwent Hospital for one night, then transferred to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, before staying at the Roockwood Hospital in Llandaff for six months.

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Mr Jones was told his chances of survival were slim, and was told he would never be able to walk, talk or move his limbs again.

When his mother would visit, as he couldn’t speak, he had to blink once for yes and twice for no, and was given a plastic board with numbers, letters and colours to communicate.

However, one day when out in the garden with his mother, he turned to her and said his first words again - “mum”.

“My voice started to come back as a faint whisper, but it gradually got stronger with speech therapy," he said.

Mr Jones would often visit a psychiatrist when “feeling low” and like he “did not want to be here anymore”.

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“When it happened, my niece and nephew were only young, and on sunny days I would want to go outside and run on the beach with them,” he added.

“It really used to upset me, and there are still times when I feel like this, but making people laugh is what cheers me up.”

Mr Jones started attending the Newport-based Casnewydd Stroke Support Group five years ago, and said that since then his confidence and overall happiness has “shot right up”.

“I can join in activities here and have fun without being judged on my disability or speech problems,” he said.

“I love chatting and having a laugh with the volunteers and other stroke survivors each week.”

He was given a voice box to help amplify his voice when speaking and can now talk on the same level as those around him.

The Casnewydd Stroke Support Group encourages stroke survivors to chat to those who have had similar experiences and also organising activities like bingo, quizzes and local trips.

South Wales Argus:

(Colin Jones with the members and volunteers of Casnewydd Stroke Group)

The group relies on the dedicated support of volunteers, including Kathleen Cox, who joined after her mother died of a stroke.

“We want people affected by stroke to feel more confident, have the chance to get out of the house and not feel so lonely,” she said.

The group meet each Wednesday from 10.30am-12.30pm at St Julian’s Methodist Church Hall, St Julian's Avenue, Newport and is always open to new members.