IT was June 2015 and John Whiteford had just switched on the shower when he had what he describes as a "wee wobble".

"The next thing I knew I was lying on the bathroom floor, fighting for my life basically.

Then 52, Mr Whiteford had just come off the nightshift at the delivery depot where he had worked for more than 20 years.

He was due to go to hospital later than day for brain scans after experiencing blackouts, and struggling to reduce his blood pressure.

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Alone in his home in Kirkintilloch, the sudden stroke left the grandfather paralysed down his left-hand side and feeling "like my face was melting".

With his eyesight also fading, Mr Whiteford dragged himself using his right arm from the bathroom to the bedroom where he was able to hit redial on his telephone to reach the last caller - his ex-partner, who had phoned to remind him of his hospital appointment.

"By luck she was driving not far from the house and came to see what was happening," said Mr Whiteford.

"My eyesight was going and she couldn't understand a word I was saying because my speech was slurred by this point. It was a nightmare.

"She found me conked out on the bedroom floor with the phone in my hand - she actually thought I'd passed away."

An ambulance rushed Mr Whiteford to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where he was diagnosed with an ischaemic stroke and prescribed thrombolysis - a clot-busting drug treatment.

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For this, he was transferred to the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, with time fast running out.

Thrombolysis must be administered with three and a half hours of symptom-onset to be effective; Mr Whiteford was just three minutes away from the cut-off when he finally received the treatment.

"Without thrombolysis, probably wouldn't be here to tell the tale," he said.

"It's helped me to make an almost full recovery."

Today, Mr Whiteford's only physical effects from the stroke are a lingering weakness down his left side and slurred speech if he is over-tired.

The ordeal has left him with flashbacks and post-traumatic stress disorder, however, and he had to give up his job.

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He has found a new lease of life after taking up bowls - encouraged by his late father, who died in October 2015 - and in September last year won in the Handicap Championship at Woodilee Bowling Club.

"The determination I had to do that for my Dad was a big target for me. And the camaraderie is great.

"I still have good days and bad days. But I'm happy to be at the stage I'm at now because at one point it wasn't looking good."