Late Environment Minister’s daughter plans mammoth stroke fundraiser

Thursday 12 May 2022

A Jersey woman whose family were rocked by two strokes in two weeks is planning a mammoth run fundraiser to help raise awareness and ensure that others can avoid going through the same anguish in future.

Brothers Rob and Steven Duhamel both had strokes in September last year.

Former Environment Minister Rob Duhamel, who was Jersey's Environment Minister and gave more than 20 years' service to the States Assembly, sadly passed away aged 66.

Meanwhile, his youngest brother, retired auditor Steven (62), remains in hospital recovering from his stroke.

"I didn't know much about strokes before"

Now, eight months on, Rob’s daughter Dione (30), has decided to pay tribute to her father by raising money for the Stroke Association.

Pictured: Dione, a compliance manager with Saltgate, aims to raise £5,000 by running 2,500km – the distance from her home in St Helier to Helsinki – as well as taking part in the Jersey Marathon in October.

“This is a cause close to my heart as last year my family suffered from two massive hits due to stroke,” Dione explained.

“Firstly my uncle had a stroke which is he still fighting and recovering from and then my dad sadly passed away just a few days after he had a stroke."

She noted that she “didn’t know much about strokes before my family suffered such a huge loss last year", which is one of the reasons she is so keen to raise awareness.

"We had a lovely Sunday afternoon..."

Recalling what happened to her father, she said: “We had a lovely Sunday afternoon in the garden, but Dad had a stroke during the night and didn’t wake up on the Monday morning.

"He was rushed to hospital and the doctors thought that he might make a recovery but then on Tuesday they stopped treatment."

Pictured: Dione's dad, Rob Duhamel, who passed away after a stroke in September last year.

Her uncle, meanwhile, fell into a coma. 

“He was going back and forth between hospitals in Jersey and Southampton for treatment."

"Steven is doing much better now"

Fortunately, Dione said that Steven is "doing much better now and that’s a positive."

"He has regained his speech and some cognitive ability and has come a very long way in his recovery but his vision is significantly impaired, his left side is paralysed and it’s likely he will never walk again.”

Steven and his family have been supported by the Stroke Association’s stroke recovery service.

"I wanted to do something that mattered"

Describing life since September as a "blur" and recalling feeling "so helpless because you can’t do anything and it’s all left up to the doctors", Dione explained that she "wanted to do something that mattered."

"...As a keen runner I thought doing a running challenge would be a good way to raise money for the Stroke Association and help other families.

“Last year, I did approximately 1,200km and I wanted to push myself for a challenge so 2,500km sounded like a good number – although it is already proving quite a hard target.

“It worked out to just under 50km a week which is quite a lot to fit into work and social life. I’m already a bit behind which is tough.”

Pictured: Brothers Rob (second from left) and Steven (far right) both suffered strokes within two weeks of each other. They are pictured here with their siblings and parents.

Most of Dione’s training is along the promenade of St. Aubin’s Bay, but she also ventures inland to train for the hills which feature in the Jersey Marathon. 

"It's a really meditative activity"

“I find it’s my time,” said Dione. “It’s a really meditative activity where I can just sort my head out and have it as my personal time. If I’ve had bad times in the past I’ve gone for a run.

“In the weeks just after Dad died, running was a big thing to clear my head. It really helped me to cope.

“I’ve done the Jersey Marathon twice before and the virtual New York Marathon. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with running marathons, they are really tough mentally as well as physically but there is nothing quite like the feeling when you pass the finish line. I’m hoping that the amount of running I’m doing this year will help me beat my best time of four hours and 29 minutes.

“I’m really lucky that I’ve got such supportive friends, family and colleagues and I’ve been really touched by the generosity of everyone so far.”

"She's an inspiration"

Dione has already raised more than £1,000 towards her target - and her employer, Saltgate, has already pledged to match up to £2,500 to help her reach her fundraising total.

Chief Company Officer Hannah Culshaw described Dione's mission as “nothing short of incredible", adding that she had inspired the whole team "not just with the physical endurance of her challenge and her personal story behind it – but to watch out for the warning signs of stroke."

Pictured: Rob was a a former Environment Minister from Jersey who served on the States Assembly for more than two decades.

Jacqui Cuthbert, the Stroke Association’s Associate Director for the South West and Channel Islands, added: “Dione’s family were dealt a cruel blow when her dad and uncle both had strokes and in such a short time. We’re grateful that she’s chosen to fundraise to support our charity’s work and wish her well as she pounds those long, long kilometres."

"Stroke research is chronically underfunded"

She went on to explain that, “despite the devastating impact of stroke, stroke research is chronically underfunded and receives far less funding than other health conditions that have similar life-long effects."

“Despite stroke still being the fourth biggest killer in the UK, research has helped to more than halve the rate of deaths from stroke over the last three decades. It’s absolutely crucial that we continue this progress, but we can’t do this without vital funding. Far less is spent ‘per survivor’ on research into stroke than on research into any other health condition."

She added that she hoped that, in future, strokes research would have the success that cancer research has had. 

Ms Cuthbert added that the charity not only aimed to focus on research into causes and prevention, but ongoing rehabilitation for survivors.

"Our research means everything to stroke survivors and their families. It gives hope for a better recovery, living more independently, a future.”

Pictured: Dione hopes to raise public awareness and help contribute to the funding of research on better prevention, treatment and support to individuals and their families.

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