Falling and Laughing: The Restoration of Edwyn Collins

Summary: This book is about Edwyn Collins, a man from a post Punk band who had 2 brain haemorrages. He went on to contract MRSA as a result of an operation to his skull and spent six months in hospital. Written by by Grace Maxwell, his partner, it tells the story of Edwyn's journey through intensive care and rehabilitation, and the impact of occupation on recovery. Grace's story is an intimate and inspiring account of what you do to survive when your husband is all but taken away without warning by a stroke. The book offers an inspiring account both of frustration with the NHS and a joyous celebration about love.

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The following films follow the experiences of people with different long term conditions. Use the controls in the window below to stop and start the videos. You can access more films like this from the NHS Choices web site www.nhs.uk/yourhealth/Pages/Patientstories.aspx or their broadcast channel on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/NHSChoices

Parkinson’s

Karen Rose was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at just 34. She talks about the impact it's had on her life over the past 10 years.

Motor neurone disease

Julie was diagnosed with motor neurone disease five years ago but has continued to work as a primary school teacher.

Stroke

Ordinary people reveal how stroke has affected them and how they cope with daily life.

Crohn’s disease

Joseph Barr describes how he manages to keeps life as normal as possible since his diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory disease of the gut.

Osteoporosis

It was only when 75-year-old Dorothy Borbas fell and broke two bones in her spine that doctors discovered she had osteoporosis. She talks about living with the condition.

Coronary obstructive pulmonary disease

Lynn Ashton already had asthma when she was diagnosed with coronary obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She describes life with COPD.