"I could no longer speak or write": Christophe, a stroke victim, recounts his painful recovery

While October 30 marks World Stroke Day, every year in France, 120,000 people are affected by a stroke, the third leading cause of death in the country.

However, many of them could be avoided, points out a report from the Court of Auditors , published on Tuesday, October 28, which deplores insufficient prevention and considerable loss of opportunity for patients, on the occasion of World Stroke Day.

Christophe, 57, himself suffered a stroke in 2022: "It was my wife who, coming home from work, found me and saw that I couldn't speak. Luckily, the firefighters arrived quickly," he recounts this Wednesday in Apolline Matin on RMC.

Although the treatment was quick, for Christophe it was the beginning of a long course of care: "I found myself in neurology. Then I spent 6 weeks in a rehabilitation hospital and then another 6 weeks in a day hospital. I have been doing speech therapy for 3 years to relearn how to speak properly," he testifies.

"It does me a lot of good. Because at the beginning, after the stroke, it's like you're a child," says Christophe.

"I couldn't speak or write anymore, everything was disconnected. Brushing my teeth was impossible, the toothbrush went in all directions, I couldn't stand up anymore," he recalls.

Today he advises people not to give up despite the difficulties: "Sport is very important, I used to do it before the stroke and you must not remain sedentary, you must not give up. I am a fighter, in the hospital I ran in the park with the doctors' permission," says Christophe.

According to the Court of Auditors , improved measures could benefit the French in the prevention of strokes. This could result in €200 million in annual savings for the State, while stroke treatment costs €4.5 billion each year.