A LIFE-CHANGING group supporting people with a little-known condition is celebrating its second anniversary in the town.

An estimated 250,000 people in the UK suffer from aphasia – a condition involving a loss of communication and the use of numbers which commonly happens after a head injury or stroke.

Donna Phelan, 51, suffered from aphasia after she had a brain haemorrhage at the age of 37.

She said that losing confidence and becoming isolated are the biggest problems when you have aphasia and are struggling to communicate.

“I had enough confidence to get out there because I had two children and I had to go out there and talk to teachers. I think I’m quite quiet,” she said.

Donna, from Newton, was planning to become a nurse before her injury and found that she couldn’t go to university but instead became a leader at the Warrington aphasia support group for Connect, the communication disability network.

“It’s a roundabout way of helping people, like being a nurse,” she said.

“I am passionate about speech, Connect had a couple of groups down south but no funding to come up north – the first group was in Warrington.”

Donna said that at group meetings they always have a good laugh and talk about family, holidays and Christmas.

“Some people are really, really afraid to lose their speech so it’s great for us to observe – one day they will (suddenly) ask for a cup of tea or coffee and that’s the breakthrough.

“One fellow had given a speech at his daughter’s wedding last year and that means that the group has worked.”

However, she said that the group faces an uncertain future as their lottery funding has been cut.

David Bentley, 54, has been a leader at the group for the past six months.

“I was great at singing and when I was about 50 I had a stroke – I couldn’t remember a thing and I didn’t even know what a cat was,” he said.

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“I couldn’t even remember my friends.

“I had to learn and it came back – the brain, it starts to come back, but I am still learning.”

David, from Paddington, worked with cars before his stroke and was shocked when he found that afterwards, he could no longer remember how to fix an engine.

He enjoys working with the group but said that everybody has different levels of improvements in their speech and progress can be slow.

“What hurts me is if you can’t understand to talk how do you work?

“They are really nice people and I am going to sing for the first time in 25 years to help them.”

John Sherratt, 58, also had a stroke and has found his speech has been steadily getting better over the twelve years since.

At first he felt isolated and did not go out of the house very often.

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He said it was difficult because people could not understand him: “People thought I was drunk. Sometimes I was!”

But since the aphasia group was founded, John has been to every meeting and finds that the best part was watching people improve each time.

The Orford resident said that some people start with no speech and soon he finds they are chatting so much, he has to tell them to shut up.

The Warrington Connect group is held fortnightly on Mondays, between 1pm and 4pm, at the Games Room in Alford Hall.

For more information contact Donna Phelan on 07954 694949 or email donnaphelan@hotmail.co.uk.