After 25 years working in business development and senior research support roles, primarily in Higher Education, I founded a social enterprise to collect and publish stories of how sport and outdoor activity helped people overcome personal hurdles, including physical and mental disability.In June 2020 I became one of those stories myself, suffering a massive stroke shortly after my 60th birthday. I was incredibly fortunate to rapidly receive life-saving treatment in the form of a thrombectomy, which meant I walked unaided out of hospital 36 hours later. At the time of my stroke (early on a Sunday morning) there were only 8 hospitals in the UK able to offer 24/7 access to the specialist treatment I desperately needed. I was lucky enough to be within 30 minutes (on blue lights) of the Royal Stoke Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent and their world-class stroke unit.Physically I have made a good recovery, although as a former ultra-marathoner and fell-runner I don't quite have the strength and stamina I used to. The same applies to my cycling and open-water swimming, but the important point is that I can still walk and talk. Being able to run, swim and cycle (and drive) is a huge bonus. I swim year round in lakes, rivers and the sea.I struggle with fatigue and anxiety - common to virtually everybody with a stroke or any acquired brain injury - but I am doing what I can to use my previous skills and experience to support stroke research and stroke recovery more widely.For my own well-being and to recharge my physical, mental and emotional batteries I spend as much time outside as I can. Photography and print-making are hobbies I'm hoping to turn into something more at some point, but for now I'm enjoying a very busy portfolio semi-retirement. See more on my Instagram feed @peterhooper2022