Jennie Gow, the Radio Five Live Formula One commentator, has been vocal about the assistance she received from a nurse who encouraged her to “get angry” if she wanted to speak after her stroke in December 2022. After collapsing in the bathroom, Gow was taken to hospital and determined to have experienced a stroke caused by a blood clot from the carotid artery, a viral infection, and a tear in the blood vessel due to coughing. The clot damaged the part of Gow’s brain that governs speech, necessitating months of speech and motor function relearning.
Despite Gow’s frustration with the slowness of her recovery, she credits a fast medical response with putting her in an optimal position to make a strong recovery. Gow lauded the work of stroke charities and called for additional research and support for individuals who endure strokes, commenting that “it’s fascinating but so much more needs to be done to learn about stroke. It’s not spoken about enough but it’s a problem for so many families”. She also noted her fortune at having had access to such high-quality care during her condition, deeming it a “postcode lottery.”
Gow also has received considerable support from the Formula One community, with stars like Lewis Hamilton offering help in any way they can. Gow emphasized the camaraderie among the F1 community, particularly in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, where there was an outpouring of support during a time of crisis.
Gow, who began her broadcasting career in the South of England as a radio presenter, went on to cover F1 and other motorsports events for BBC, Sky, Netflix, and ITV. Despite Gow’s desire to return to her broadcasting career, she is frustrated by the pace of her speech relearning. “I find it really hard to look at someone talking into a microphone perfectly naturally and normally – sometimes I feel quite envious of that, because I know I can’t,” she said in an interview with BBC Radio Berkshire
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