Reg Holder
Reg grew up in East Africa, coming to the UK to train for the Merchant Navy. He is a Master Mariner and after sailing on cargo ships and tankers came ashore as a pilot, working in oil terminals. He is a retired marine consultant and has lived in Ross-shire since 1998. Reg was a founding member of Ross-shire Writers, setting up the group with others, after taking a WEA Creative Writing Course led by local author Cynthia Rogerson.
(Reg's story continued by Louise ...) In 2022 Reg suffered a stroke but with his customary determination has never given up and worked tirelessly on his recovery. He has continued to attend Ross-shire Writers regularly, often bringing pieces from his extensive archive of prose and poetry. Although he struggles to express himself at times, he is not deterred and amazes us with his optimism.
The following piece was written by Reg recently, recounting his lfe-changing experience of having a stroke.
What Seems to be the End is Really a New Beginning
This marks the end of a time in my life that I will never see again, and I will now begin a new chapter in my life I couldn’t write or talk to begin with, but I’m so lucky that I can read. People have many different types of strokes and some find it very difficult to recover and cannot work.
That’s now over three years and nine months since I had my stroke but now I’m slowly getting better. Unfortunately I have ‘Aphasia*’ which means I find it very difficult to talk and write. But again, the brain has wonder and helps form new paths, and I see the recovery is coming.
* Aphasia (also called dysphasia) is a condition that makes it difficult to communicate. It can make it hard to speak, read, write and understand others.