All I could remember after brain illness was my dream of being a florist. Now it’s true! (From Malvern Gazette)

All I could remember after brain illness was my dream of being a florist. Now it’s true!

9:10am Friday 22nd March 2013 in News By Robert Hale

A WOMAN whose only memory following a brain haemorrhage was her dream of opening a florist has seen her vision come true.

Lucy Jones was set to open her business today (Friday) after a battle againstthe odds.

She was office manager at Malvern Town Council when she suffered the haemorrhage in December 2006, which left her with damaged eyesight, impaired memory and unable to read and write.

Two aneurysms left her with titanium coils fitted to her cerebral artery and because of her sight problems, she could no longer drive.

The 57-year-old, from Lower Howsell Road in Malvern, had already had ideas about going into floristry full time, and said: “The only thing I could remember after my operation was I would like to run my own business as a florist.

“But there was a long way to go as I could not read or write, was dizzy when standing and my memory was sadly lacking. My memory had gone. I didn’t know my husband, Andrew, or three children.

“Without all of them I would not have got here.”

Once she left hospital, the hard task of relearning, aided by an occupational therapist and speech therapist, began, and she attended the acquired brain injury unit (ABI) at South Worcestershire College in Malvern.

She said: “I was very determined to do everything for myself, to try to learn all the things I had forgotten, and my damaged eyesight made things harder.

“My family and friends encouraged me and I did not lose faith in getting back to my old self.”

She had to be persuaded to attend the unit because her confidence was very low, but after her first visit, she realised she could gain confidence by meeting people with similar problems.

“The more I learnt the better I felt and my determination to be a florist just grew,” she said.

She booked on a City and Guilds course for at Pershore Horticultural College and spent many hours re-learning everything to do with floristry.

Because of her eye problems, she often travels by train, and she started creating floral arrangements at the tea room at Great Malvern station.

“Many people using the train admired the flowers and some said it brightened their day. Things have really progressed and I am now opening my florist shop at the station called Shrinking Violet Bespoke Floristry.”