TEN years ago Tanya Leach was like any other young person, enjoying life and living for the moment.

But at the age of just 29 she had a major stroke and lost feeling down her right side.

Since then she has learned to walk and talk again, but still has problems with her right arm and hand.

But Miss Leach, now 38, of Blenheim Drive, Bicester, hopes life is on the up, having started a new job after a year in the unemployment queue.

Thanks to charities Shaw Trust and DisabledGo, she works as an assistant in Marks & Spencer’s food hall in Queen Street, Oxford.

Miss Leach said: “All I wanted was the chance to prove myself, but due to my disability, no-one would give me one.

“When you’ve been unemployed for a long period, people begin to think you don’t want to work and you lose your sense of self-worth.

“M&S has given me such a great start to the new year by focusing on what I could bring to the position, rather than what I couldn’t.”

Miss Leach’s story comes as the Stroke Association launches its award scheme for people who have rebuilt their lives after an attack.

Before her stroke Miss Leach was a pallet supervisor at Bicester distribution factory Tibbett & Britten.

She said: “I woke up one day and thought, ‘I don’t feel right’, and decided not to go to work. That carried on for a few days then my mother got the doctor in and he said go straight to hospital.

“I had my major stroke in the corridor of the John Radcliffe Hospital.”

Miss Leach underwent tests, but doctors were baffled as to why Miss Leach had a stroke at a young age.

She spent three months at Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, in Oxford, then another year as an outpatient.

Six months after the stroke she returned to work, but left soon afterwards. She worked at newsagent McColls, in Villiers Road, but eventually the pressure became too much.

Miss Leach, who takes daily medication, says she is positive about her future, but feels she has missed out on a lot.

She said: “I would hate to think what I would be doing now – I could be on the other side of the world.”

The Stroke Association is looking for nominations for its Life After Stroke Awards, both for people who have rebuilt their lives and those who cared for them. Details are available at stroke.org.uk/lasa.

The FAST test is a way to recognise and remember the common signs of a stroke.

Face – Check their face. Has their mouth drooped?

Arms – Can they lift both arms?

Speech – Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?

Time is critical.

If you see any of these signs call 999 straight away.