Loose Women's Gloria Hunniford on 'one thing' that saved husband in scary health emergency
EXCLUSIVE: Loose Women panellist Gloria Hunniford reflected on how she spotted the signs of her husband Stephen's stroke so she could act fast and save his life.
Loose Women panellist Gloria Hunniford was left fearing for her husband Stephen Wray’s life when he came “stumbling” into the bedroom while suffering a stroke.
The frightening ordeal happened in 2012 just as Gloria, 84, was about to leave home and travel to the ITV studios.
Stephen, 79, who married Gloria in 1998, had been working in the garden before he hobbled into the room saying his “arm and leg felt like cotton wool”.
Due to Gloria’s tragic family history of strokes, she was able to spot the warning signs quickly and called a doctor.
The presenter lost her father to multiple strokes in 1979. Three of his sisters also died from the same thing.
Reflecting on the scary moment, Gloria told Express.co.uk: “Because of my family background, I realised what was happening and called a doctor. He said to get him to hospital immediately. It’s shocking how simply it happened and the fact it can happen to anybody of any age really.”
While at the hospital, Stephen was rushed to a dedicated stroke unit and had a “clot-busting” injection which dissolves blood clots and restores blood flow to the brain. Gloria says it is “probably what saved his life”.
She continued: “We discovered that he also had very high blood pressure, even though he wasn’t a smoker and I would have regarded him as being fit. But, unless you know that you have got high blood pressure, you can’t really take action. Speed is of the essence.”
Unfortunately, Stephen suffered a second stroke in May last year which has left him partially blind in his right eye.
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Speaking to the Mirror just four weeks after his ordeal, Stephen explained he woke up with blood in his eye and was rushed to hospital. He said he was “coping” with losing his sight, but shared that the experience was “disorientating”. He also had a heart attack in 2004.
Gloria is now urging people to get their blood pressure checked as millions of people currently live with the condition without knowing.
If left untreated, high blood pressure can significantly increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and vascular dementia. Thankfully, there are things you can do to treat it with lifestyle changes and/or medication.
The NHS has launched free blood pressure checks at many local pharmacies for people over the age of 40.
If you are aged 40 and over and haven’t had a check in the last six months, you can get your blood pressure checked for free at your local pharmacy today. It’s a free, simple and non-invasive procedure conducted in privacy, and you don’t need to book in advance.
Visit the NHS website to find a pharmacy that offers free blood pressure checks near you or search ‘pharmacy blood pressure check’.
The DHSC campaign follows the launch of expanded community pharmacy services, meaning that from January 31st your local pharmacist can supply some medications for seven common conditions. These include earache for those aged 1 to 17, impetigo, infected insect bites, shingles for those over 18 years old, sinusitis for those aged 12 years and over, sore throat for those aged 5 years and over and urinary tract inflections (UTIs) for women aged 16-64 without needing a GP appointment or prescription.
For more information regarding the expanded Pharmacy services, visit nhs.uk/thinkpharmacyfirst.
