Nick was the life and soul of every party. He was a kind, caring and generous husband and father to three children. Nick also had an established career. He was the former Chief Executive of the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP).
Nick was delivering a lecture to students in Northampton when he suddenly collapsed and was rushed to hospital. His family received the heartbreaking news that he'd had a major stroke, which left him with severe communication problems.
Nick's wife, Jo remembers the first time she saw him in hospital. 'Nick couldn't move, he had no movement down his right side at all. He couldn't speak. I don't know what I was expecting but I wasn't expecting just how severe it was.'
As a result of his stroke, Nick now suffers from aphasia, a communication problem. Before his stroke, speech was a huge part of Nick's life. It was essential to his job and he also enjoyed performing stand up comedy. His daughter, Jemma reflects on this aspect of his stroke. 'His speech was his job. His speech was his life. To lose that is cruel.' However, despite his aphasia, Nick speaks at events across the UK to raise awareness of stroke, and has also set up a support cafe meet up.
His recovery is ongoing but he is determined to set goals and challenge himself in order to help his recovery. Since his stroke, Nick and his family have been participating in a number of gruelling fundraising events to raise money for the Stroke Association. They've done 10k races, Give a Hand and Bake, sumo suit wrestling and so much more. They also took part in a Cardiff to Temby bike ride. Jo said: "It was really tough. He did really well. He did about 40 miles. It was really hard for him because of the right side weakness he's got. He hates bikes!"
Just because you've had a stroke, it doesn't mean you can't still have objectives and goals.
Jo Cann
Nick has demonstrated extraordinary strength and resilience during his recovery and continues to push himself forward. "If anything, I'm more proud of him now than when I was younger," Jemma says.
Watch Nick's stroke story
In recognition of Nick and his family's fundraising effort, he received an award at our 2016 Life After Stroke Awards. Watch his stroke story below.