Glasgow-born Broadcaster Andrew Marr says suffering a catastrophic stroke has left him disabled for the rest of his life, but determined to 'suck the juice' out of every remaining moment.
The 55 year old former BBC Political Editor suffered the stroke at his West London home almost two years ago, after disregarding two earlier mini-strokes. As well as suffering bleeding on the brain, he tore an artery in his neck and was left with significant impairment down his left hand side. He still has limited use of his left arm and walks with a stick.
"I haven't made a full recovery and the reality is that I won't," he told The Scots Magazine, in an interview to be published this week. "I'll be up to 80 per cent if I'm lucky. I won't be 100 per cent ever and I had to accept that a long time ago.
"Even if you do all the physiotherapy, with a stroke as bad as mine you won't make a full recovery, but you have to find ways of coping with that," he said.
The experience, and the disabilities, have left him with a changed attitude to life, he added. "I was always a very hurried person, rushing my way through life. Now I have to move a lot more slowly. That's a good thing in itself. It makes you appreciate and reconsider life - and suck, the juice out of the moment - more than I ever did before," he said.
Mr Marr said drawing and painting, particularly the scenery of Wester Ross where he spent much time as a child, had helped him through the recovery process. "I was relieved to find that after my stroke I could still do drawing and writing. To draw something is a way of meditating in front of reality and I find it a very important way of expressing the way I'm alive," he explained.
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