Stroke survivor with memory impairment wins award as ‘most sophisticated three-year-old you could meet’

A Lewisham woman has received a prestigious award – and a hug from actress Emma Thompson – in recognition of her inspirational battles through two strokes, retrograde amnesia and facial blindness.

Carole Pyke has to cope with tough daily challenges, and the combination of facial blindness and memory loss means that the moment she leaves her house she feels vulnerable.

She said: “People often approach me in a familiar way and I have no idea who they are or how they know me and due to the amount of times this has happened I no longer explain I have had a stroke and don’t know who they are.”

But her ability to keep smiling through it has won her admiration – and the Most Inspirational Award at the Inspirational Women Awards in January at the Landmark Hotel, Marylebone, two days before her 60th birthday.

Retrograde amnesia has robbed her of 93 per cent of her conscious memory, but instead of dwelling on the impairment, Carole instead said this made her “the most sophisticated three-year-old you will ever meet”.

Carole, of Malyons Road, Ladywell, a marketing strategist, specialising in personal branding, says she combines “a zest for life, a wealth of expertise and a fresh perspective on the world.”

Her positive approach has not only impacted fellow stroke survivors, but also people who encounter her on her walk through her everyday life.

She said: “I have no frame of reference for fear, worry, anxiety or regret as they are both learned behaviour and based on the past.

“As a result I am lost in conversations that either start from this position or centre around this topic area which so much of life’s conversations seem to.

“But I don’t have good days and bad days, I simply have days and for each one, I am grateful.”

Pictured top: Carole at the awards ceremony (Picture: Carole Pyke)