WHEN community service driver Francis Brown felt numbness on one side of his body he knew he was having a stroke.

The swift actions of the Acomb resident and his wife meant he was in hospital within minutes, allowing him to make the best possible recovery.

“I was at home getting ready for work, when I went to get my car from the garage and found that my left arm and leg didn’t work,” said Francis, 67.

“My wife rang 999, explaining I was having a stroke, and a paramedic arrived within minutes, followed closely by an ambulance and crew. I arrived at York Hospital A&E within 20 minutes and had an ECG brain scan.

“Around one third of people in the UK who have a stroke every year go on to have communication difficulties. So I do feel very lucky that my stroke hasn’t impaired my ability to communicate, especially as reading and writing can also be affected.”

Francis has now written a selection of short stories, and funded their publication in a book, to raise money to help other stroke sufferers. Proceeds from the book, Stroke Of A Pen, will go to a national charity, The Stroke Association.

Peter Collins, The Stroke Association’s regional fundraising manager, praised Francis’s actions.

“Francis and Barbara have shown such generosity by funding the book themselves; it’s very inspiring to see people thinking of innovative ways to raises money for the charity,” he said.

The book will also be available in Waterstones bookstore at Gower Street, Central London, as part of a special promotion.

“It’s incredibly exciting to see a collection of work I’d intended to be read only by my grandchildren available in a branch of the UK’s leading bookseller,” said Francis.

The book costs £7.99, is available by emailing Strokeofapen@stroke.org.uk or by phoning Steve Blakelock at The Stroke Association on 0191 492 6166.

For more information about strokes or The Stroke Association, please contact the Stroke Information Service on 0303 30 33 100, or visit stroke.org.uk. • Francis will be signing copies of his book at the launch night held on Saturday, September 18, from 7pm at The Sun Inn, Acomb.