LIKE many people, Greg Baynham thought a stroke was a condition that only affected the elderly – until it happened to him.

Greg was just 32 with a six month old son when he says his life changed forever on December 3 in 2004.

“I was sat at my desk at work and I stood up to go to the toilet when my eyesight started to blur and I couldn’t see properly,” he explains.

“I tried to carry on as normal for the rest of the day, but by 3pm it hadn’t got any better so I went home.”

By this point he had lost the peripheral vision in his right eye so his doctor referred him to the eye unit at Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

“The eye unit said they couldn’t find anything wrong so I was referred for a CT brain scan which showed I’d had a stroke.”

Greg says he was shell-shocked.

“Like most people, I thought a stroke was something that only happened to elderly people.

“Since I’ve looked into it I’ve come across people in their teens who have been affected.”

Greg later discovered he was more at risk because he had a hole in his heart which he knew nothing about.

A year later he had surgery to repair the hole, but in January 2006 he suffered a mini stroke and is now on medication for the rest of his life.

Now Greg, 41, of Littledown, has signed up for the inaugural Bournemouth Marathon Festival in October, to raise funds for the Stroke Association.

He adds: “I was tempted to do the marathon but it had to be a realistic challenge, as the last time I took part in a running race was the 1500m at school when I was 18. So I will be doing the half marathon.”

Greg’s wife Jo is also taking part in a cross Channel swim to raise funds for the charity. To support Greg’s mission, visit justgivingcom/GregBaynham.

• For more information about the Bournemouth Marathon Festival, visit run-bmf.com.