Gordon Robb, a 63-year-old resident of Bonnyrigg in Midlothian, Scotland, experienced a stroke in September 2025 without realizing it at the time. While pottering in his garden, he unknowingly suffered a bleed on his brain. Unlike the common indicators of a stroke, Mr. Robb did not exhibit facial weakness, arm weakness, or speech issues. Instead, he presented with a rare symptom, affecting less than one percent of stroke sufferers: the sudden loss of the ability to read. He described seeing emails and messages as if they were in a foreign language, initially attributing it to tiredness.

Despite his unusual symptoms, Mr. Robb was reluctant to seek emergency care due to the absence of the typical stroke signs he was aware of. It was only the following day, after attempting to read cash machine instructions and still perceiving them as foreign text, that he considered seeing his GP. His cousin, whose husband had recently died from a sudden stroke, intervened, driving him to A&E where he was diagnosed with a haemorrhagic stroke.

Strokes are a significant health concern in the UK, affecting approximately 100,000 people annually and leading to around 38,000 deaths each year. This makes stroke the UK's fourth biggest killer and a primary cause of disability. Common stroke symptoms are often remembered by the acronym FAST: Face (drooping), Arms (weakness), Speech (slurred), and Time (to call emergency services immediately). However, other crucial symptoms include blurred vision or loss of sight in one or both eyes, a severe headache, feeling or being sick, sudden numbness on one side of the body, sudden vertigo, and difficulty swallowing. Recognising these lesser-known signs is vital, as immediate treatment for any type of stroke, including a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke, can significantly reduce the risk of a more severe event.

There are two main types of stroke. Ischaemic strokes, accounting for 80 percent of cases, occur when a blood clot or fatty deposits block arteries supplying the brain, preventing adequate blood flow. This process, known as atherosclerosis, involves the buildup of cholesterol, calcium, and other substances in artery walls. The second, rarer type, is a haemorrhagic stroke, which Mr. Robb suffered. This happens when a blood vessel bursts in the brain, leaking blood into the organ and depriving other areas of necessary supply. Haemorrhagic strokes can also be caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) – an abnormal cluster of blood vessels. These are particularly dangerous, with high mortality rates: 30 percent of subarachnoid haemorrhage sufferers die before reaching the hospital, a further 25 percent die within 24 hours, and 40 percent of survivors die within a week.

Risk factors for stroke include age, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, a family history of stroke, and a previous stroke or TIA. For the three out of four people who survive a stroke, many face life-long disabilities, impacting their ability to walk, communicate, eat, and perform everyday tasks. Treatment for both types of stroke is time-sensitive, often requiring surgery or a drug like tPA (tissue plasminogen activator) within three hours to be most effective.

Mr. Robb expressed feeling