Clerk grateful after colleagues spotted his stroke at work

A senior chambers clerk has heaped praise on his quick-thinking colleagues who recognised he was having a stroke at work and potentially saved his life.

Mark Harrison, senior clerk at Southampton chambers 12CP, had lost control of his legs and voice whilst walking his dog last week, but he shrugged it off and came into work without mentioning it.

On his way into the office he had a similar attack, and managed to stagger to his desk and wait for it to pass.

Oliver Capildeo, one of the young members of chambers, came to talk to him and noticed he could not speak properly, could not focus and could not remember colleagues’ names. Capildeo recognised the problem, but Harrison insisted he felt better and started replying to emails.

Then his deputy Lucy Smith and pupil barrister Laura Duff arrived and rang 999, explaining that he was having a stroke.

Their rapid response ensured Harrison was soon being treated at Southampton General’s specialist stroke unit and he was able to be discharged after four days.

Scans and tests confirmed that he had a non-diagnosed brain bleed many years ago that had not healed correctly, which led to an artery blockage which caused a series of mini-strokes. With medication, doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

Harrison said: ‘Time is everything. The rapid treatment I received has saved me from any major side effects and preserved my quality of life. I am a fit, non-smoker which helped but the absolute key was time and I will be forever grateful to Oliver, Lucy and Laura for what they did.’

Harrison shared his experience on Twitter this week to raise awareness of the signs of a stroke and said he was ‘astonished’ by the response - 10,000 retweets and thousands more goodwill messages.

So I had a stroke on Wednesday at my desk. Luckily colleagues recognised the symptoms and I was in hospital within 35 minutes. Please retweet and remind people Face, Arm, Speech & Time. Time is key for stroke victims and I owe everything to those @12CPBarristers who acted.

— Mark Harrison (@MH12CP) August 16, 2022

Now he wants to use this platform to spread awareness about the symptoms of a stroke and the important of responding quickly.

‘I was extremely lucky to have received such expedited treatment. But not everyone is so lucky. During my four days in hospital I had been the only patient to arrive in under three hours from my first symptoms. Some fellow patients had first experienced symptoms in the evening and made the decision ”to get a good night’s sleep” as remedy, only to discover in the morning that symptoms had worsened severely and they were unable to speak or move limbs. The heatwave also made it trickier to assess symptoms, as I myself initially put my ‘turn’ down to dehydration.’

Harrison also thanked the staff members who treated him at Southampton General and the ambulance crews who reached him within eight minutes of the 999 call.

This article is now closed for comment.