This morning I was doing some research for the first video (coming this Friday) for LIfeinaSTROKE when I came across SameYou. I remember reading somewhere years before Stroke hit my family, that Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones fame had suffered and recovered from a stroke. In retrospect, I might have read the the original NewYorker article that Emilia Clarke wrote in 2019 entitled "A Battle for My Life" but my memory of what I read was a little fuzzy.
When I stumbled across the SameYou website I initially thought Emilia was just a celebrity spokesperson for a cause and organisation which she obviously cared about. However, I was really happy to find out SameYou was actually founded by Emilia and her mother Jenny.
On further reading I learned that Emilia didn't actually have a stroke but that she twice had life saving surgery for two Aneurysms. The first was in 2011 just before embarking on the first season of GOT, and the second was where she had a preventative and life saving operation in New York to alleviate the chances of the initially smaller and now larger aneurysm rupturing. While not actually a Stroke, the brain injury Emilia suffered caused her to have aphasia, very similar to many Stroke survivors. Emilia recovered and went on to incredible fame and to be awarded countless accolades for her acting prowess.
After Emilia's Brain Injury, Jenny who is SameYou's CEO, and Emilia discussed what they could do to give back. The result was SameYou, which now after 4 years, and born during Covid, has gone on to achieve some very impressive results (You can listen free to the initial conversation that Emilia Clarke has about her Near Death experience on the NewYorker radio show below).
SameYou focusses on any acquired brain injury, which essentially is any brain injury that caused by events after birth. This can be caused by physical trauma such as a head injury or non traumatic such a Stroke or Aneurism. The aim is to do 3 things;
Taking action to improve Neurorehabilitation
Working with Leading Neuro Clinicians
Funding Transformational Solutions
SameYou has an active volunteer and supporter program, and have funded an amazing program called N-ROL operated. by UCL. N-ROL are stroke education, discussion and peer learning and rehab type groups which could be a model that could help fill in the gaps conventional and formal rehabilitation leave behind.
Take a good look at the SameYou website and get involved if you can. In the meantime, take a look at the Voices from Survivors video shown below.
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