THE last thing Chris Bassett remembers before suffering a stroke at 22 is getting a blinding headache at work.

He believed that was when he was rushed to hospital in 2007 but, in fact, he had managed to travel home and go to bed.

Chris’s then-fiancee, Stephanie, found him asleep.

Realising he was unwell when he woke, Stephanie took him to hospital.

Stepanie, who has since married Chris, said: “He came home and went to bed, but doesn’t remember that. He came home from hospital for a few days because doctors weren’t sure what was wrong, but they eventually gave him a scan and realised he had had a stroke.”

Chris was transferred to Queen’s Hospital, in Romford, where he spent a week being treated.

The day he was discharged is the first thing he can remember after the headache.

He said: “I was doing quite a manual labour job at Pets at Home, Southend, and was working through the night when I had a blinding pain in my head.

I don’t really remember anything after that until I was leaving hospital. I get snippets, like flashbacks.

“I was in a bit of a state. I had double vision and blurred vision. I couldn’t walk very far unaided and had no strength. I felt really tired all the time and lost all my confidence.”

Chris’s long road to recovery has included physiotherapy and psychiatric therapy to help him come to terms with the aftermath of his stroke and regain confidence.

He went back to light duties at Pets at Home in 2010 and is now training to become a manager, but it hasn’t been easy.

He said: “It was quite hard at first being backwhere it had happened, but Pets at Home have been very supportive. When I had my stroke I was an assistant manager and went back at the level and have worked up to being a deputy manager.”

Part of the reason Chris’s stroke wasn’t treated sooner was that he was perceived as too young to have a stroke and local services were not what they are now.

Southend Hospital is now one of the best stroke centres in the country.

Stephanie said: “I think it would be picked up much quicker now. The last thing we thought was that it was a stroke because you think that only happens to older people. Chris has done amazingly well and just wants to keep raising awareness that strokes can affect anyone, regardless of age. It has been hard at times, but I know Chris would do the same for me.”

The couple now have an 18- month-old son and Chris, 30, of Westcliff, is set to take part in the 15k Resolution Run for the Stroke Association, in Mote Park, Maidstone, Kent, on Sunday, March 22.

Chris said: “No one knows why I had a stroke and I’m told I have the same chance of having another one as anyone else. I’m pretty much back to normal, apart from a few speech issues. I sometimes stutter when I feel under pressure. I was pretty healthy when I had the stroke, but I’m even healthier now. I’ve trained as a gym instructor and hope to become a professional trainer. I’m doing the run to raise funds and awareness of the condition. It’s taken a long time to recover, but my friends, family and colleagues have been amazing.”

The Stroke Association’s Tamasan Marshall said: “In the UK, someone has a stroke every three-and-a-half minutes. We rely on people taking part in events like the Resolution Run so we can help even more people like Chris to make the best recovery possible.’’

It’s not too late to join Chris on the Resolution Run. Participants can choose 5k, 10k or 15k, and each receives a medal.

Entry fees start at £12.50.

There is no minimum sponsorship, through runners are encouraged to raise as much as possible, as the entry fee only covers the cost of the event.

To sign up, visit www.stroke.org.uk/resolution

To sponsor Chris, visit www.justgiving.com/Chris- Bassett1984