{"id":1059510,"date":"2026-06-30T11:33:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T11:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1059510\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T11:33:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T11:33:35","slug":"dad-falling-over-after-cider-was-having-stroke-and-forgot-own-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1059510\/","title":{"rendered":"Dad ‘falling over after cider’ was having stroke and forgot own son"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mike was placed into a coma for two weeks<\/p>\n

Neil Shaw<\/strong> Assistant Editor<\/p>\n

06:50, 30 Jun 2026Updated 06:51, 30 Jun 2026<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike could not remember Morgan when he woke up from the coma (Collect\/PA Real Life)<\/p>\n

A dad who was falling over after just a few pints of cider was actually suffering a stroke, and later woke up from a coma unable to remember his newborn son. Mike Jewell, from Barnstaple, had spent a day in September 2025 pressing apples and enjoying some drinks with friends and slept through the entire following day.<\/p>\n

When he finally woke up, he said he had a \u201cbanging headache\u201d and his wife, Ellie, 38, noticed his speech was slurred. Mike, 42, was rushed to hospital, where he said doctors discovered he had suffered a haemorrhagic stroke caused by bleeding in or around the brain.<\/p>\n

He underwent emergency brain surgery to relieve the pressure and said he was placed in an induced coma for two weeks. He said he had no memory of his son when we woke up and was told he might never walk again.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike had a \u2018banging\u2019 headache and slurred speech (Luna and Light Photography\/PA Real Life)<\/p>\n

Determined to defy the odds, Mike relearnt everyday tasks such as using his phone\u2019s touchscreen and making a cup of tea in just one week. A few weeks later, he returned home and he regained the ability to walk and improved his speech before returning to his job as a carpenter and joiner full-time in February 2026.<\/p>\n

Mike, a father to Morgan, 10 months, Alanah, four, and Evie, 13, told PA Real Life: \u201cWhen I woke up from the coma, Ellie said, \u2018Here\u2019s your son, he\u2019s yours\u2019, and I just said, \u2018What?\u2019. I had no recollection of him or him being born. It was so weird. He had completely gone from my mind. I absolutely adore him \u2013 he\u2019s brilliant \u2013 but at first I just didn\u2019t know what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

In September 2025, Mike was out one afternoon making cider with friends and had a few drinks. He started falling over, and his friends assumed it \u201cmust be the booze\u201d, so they laid him down. The next morning, he went home to his family and slept for almost an entire day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t drunk much. It wasn\u2019t as if I was hungover \u2013 I was just exhausted and felt weird,\u201d Mike said. He woke up the following day with a \u201cbanging headache\u201d, and his wife, Ellie, noticed his speech was slurred and he was not making any sense.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike was told he may never walk again (Collect\/PA Real Life)<\/p>\n

So, Ellie rang their local stroke unit and took him there, before he was blue-lighted to hospital. \u201cEverything felt hazy, like I was in a dream,\u201d Mike added. In hospital, scans confirmed he had suffered a stroke and Mike said doctors believed it happened when he began falling over a couple of days earlier.<\/p>\n

He was monitored for a week, but his condition deteriorated and his speech became worse. \u201cAll I can remember is what my wife has told me \u2013 it\u2019s very weird,\u201d Mike said. A further scan revealed the bleed had grown, and Mike said he was rushed into emergency brain surgery to relieve the pressure.<\/p>\n

He spent two weeks in an induced coma while the pressure and swelling reduced, with doctors fighting to keep him alive. Mike explained: \u201cMy family were terrified but I can remember my dreams from the coma but that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were so weird \u2013 I was in hospital fitting windows with (comedian) Romesh Ranganathan and then, as I came out of the coma, I was working in a biscuit factory.\u201d When he woke up, he said he could not remember the birth of his newborn son, Morgan, who was just a few weeks old.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike suffered a haemorrhagic stroke (Luna and Light Photography\/PA Real Life)<\/p>\n

Mike said doctors also warned him he might never walk again \u2013 his left arm and leg were very weak, and he could barely string a few words together. \u201cI had weakness everywhere. I couldn\u2019t stand up, although I kept trying and I\u2019d end up with my face on the floor,\u201d Mike said. \u201cIt was just so frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said doctors told him he would probably remain in hospital until after Christmas<\/a> and showed him a list of tasks he would need to complete before he could be discharged. Mike used the list as motivation, throwing all of his energy into his rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

His goals included drawing noughts and crosses grids, walking from the ward to the reception desk and back, and making a cup of tea. He also had to relearn how to unlock his phone and use a touchscreen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent three hours just trying to put my fingers together. It was mad, but once I\u2019d learnt it, I could remember how to do it,\u201d Mike explained. “I had to learn how to do everything again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike had a stroke while drinking with his friends (Collect\/PA Real Life)<\/p>\n

Within a week, he completed every task on the list and was transferred to his local hospital in Barnstaple<\/a> before returning home a few days later. \u201cI worked with an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist at home to continue building my strength and skills,\u201d Mike said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the last things I had to do before my occupational therapist signed me off was cook her a meal. I made cottage pie with all the trimmings \u2013 one of my specialities.\u201d Throughout his recovery, Ellie was still on maternity leave and, as Mike is self-employed, money was \u201ca worry\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, thanks to the support of Round Table, a men\u2019s social and community organisation where Mike serves as Devon president, more than \u00a320,000 was raised through GoFundMe. Mike began working again in January, taking on smaller jobs, and by February he was back to fitting kitchens full-time.<\/p>\n

\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike in hospital with Alanah and Morgan (Collect\/PA Real Life)<\/p>\n

Looking back on his experience, Mike said: \u201cEverything feels surreal sometimes. \u201cI occasionally say a different word from the one I mean, and it brings it all back. But, considering the state I was in, I think I\u2019ve done well. I don\u2019t take anything for granted any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is now focused on making a difference as the UK\u2019s network of 275 Round Tables begins a year of fundraising and awareness raising for the charity Different Strokes, which supports working-age stroke survivors as they reclaim their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important people know a stroke can happen to you at any age, and I think my age and fitness helped my recovery,\u201d Mike added.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit: differentstrokes.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mike was placed into a coma for two weeks Neil Shaw Assistant Editor 06:50, 30 Jun 2026Updated 06:51,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1059511,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[90890,105,16,15],"class_list":["post-1059510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-barnstaple","tag-health","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116838846644545922","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1059510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1059510\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1059511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1059510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1059510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1059510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}