As Neil Harman began his recovery from suffering a brain haemorrhage in 2023, he thought of famous figures from the sports world who had endured similar battles. Now he’s collected their stories alongside his own in a new book…
BY NEIL HARMAN
Consider ‘stroke’ in a sporting context and what invariably springs to mind is either the variety of swimming methods, a golfer’s accumulated score, and the oarsman or woman responsible for the pace and rhythm of their boat.
You would almost certainly not incline towards the medical condition that can render anyone helpless and disabled in a matter of seconds.
And yet athletes, even the strongest, fittest and most noted, are susceptible to an experience of harrowing consequence, one that turns a life upside down and where the search for a return to upsides is frighteningly complex.
From the age of 16, I spent a career writing about such people, amateur and professional alike, from the school fields of Essex to the most famous stadia in sport – Wembley and Wimbledon, the Bernabeu and Madison Square Garden.
At 66, I was cut down by a stroke, a brain bleed in my particular case which opened up a whole new world and one which, to be honest, I haven’t particularly enjoyed frequenting.
As I say in my latest book, ‘Brushes with a Stroke’ (Pitch Publishing, £14.99) stroke is a pain in the arse and many other places besides. I lost half of my physical faculties and still, two years down the line, have one leg, one arm and part of my face that inhabit their own realm. I live for the day the twain will meet again.
In attempting to survive in the void, I reverted to type (though I could only use one hand). I wanted to write a book on stroke, covering as many angles as possible, not only in my story but those of athletes who’d endured their own battle against its various forms of attack.
Michael Johnson is among America’s finest Olympians – some would argue the best and yet in 2016, what he thought was a touch of cramp was something far more dangerous.
Michael Lynagh, a fly-half of compelling talent and a good enough man to become Australia’s captain, swallowed a mouthful of beer on a boys’ night out and thought his head would explode.
John Gorman, so long Glenn Hoddle’s coaching aide de camp, and a Scot well used to physical pain in a long playing career, collapsed one morning coming out of the shower (as I had).
Noel Blake, a footballer of huge presence who became an inspirational coach, began talking gibberish for no apparent reason; the same happened to Ali Turpie, a BT Sport producer, and doctors told him he might never speak properly again.
And Cameron McKinnell, playing football for Troon FC, whiffed at a pass, collapsed mid-pitch, and the crowd hooted derision until someone in it realised something serious was afoot.
All of their stories are fulsomely told, and the piecing together of their lives makes for fascinating reading. In one sense, it’s good to know I’m not alone.
There are a million survivors in the UK hanging on to the hope that their lives will improve while having to accept there is no cure for stroke and the only way to enjoy their new life is to work hard, stay strong and not give in to the dark thoughts that creep up on us all from time to time.
‘Brushes with a Stroke: Sporting Survivors and their Stories of Recovery’ by Neil Harman is published on June 30 by Pitch Publishing, priced £14.99.
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