Bridport's Val Adams fought back from a near-fatal stroke to learn to read again thanks to the Read Easy scheme

It was New Year’s morning.

She was rushed to hospital in Southampton where doctors fought to save her life. They succeeded. But when Val was transferred to Dorchester she discovered that, although she had recovered some speech, she could no longer read a word.

Val said: “I was so glad to be alive I didn’t think about reading. It was a terrible shock.”

But today, back at home in Bothenhampton, she is halfway through a book - the Grantchester detective stories by James Runcie. Thanks to her determination, the support of her husband Richard and the hard work of Bridport Easy Read volunteer Melodie Watts, she is reading again.

“I’m still slow,” she said. “But I’m getting quicker.”

Sessions with a therapist in the summer of 2015 helped her remember words and how to count money. But she was determined to go further.

She added: “It was very important to me to be able to read. I couldn’t imagine how I would cope with life without it. I felt I might as well be dead."

Then a neighbour told her about the local charity Read Easy. In September last year she started one-to-one coaching sessions with Melodie Watts. By Easter this year she was able to read an entire book.

The sessions were often difficult. She might recognize the word, or get its sense, but be unable to say it. She might see ‘path’ and read ‘road’, or say ‘cat’ when reading ‘dog’. She had trouble with the little words.

Melodie said: “There were times when she had had very little sleep and we did not do very much in our sessions,” . “But she always turned up, no matter how tired she was.

“ She is a lady of great determination and is an inspiration to us all.”

Val practised at home by trying out words on the cat. She read pages to her husband.

“I never felt it wasn’t going to work. Melodie was so patient and good. My husband was wonderful. And our two daughters have been very supportive.”

Val, 72, said she was a shy person. But she agreed to tell her story to the Bridport News because she wanted other people to find the courage to come forward. Some stroke sufferers never recover their reading, she said.

“I feel really sorry for them. But I am even more anxious about people who have never been able to read at all. I think they should have a go.”

She herself reads the Bridport News as part of her routine – even if it takes her a week to get through it.

This week Val and her husband went to hear novelist Salley [correct] Vickers speak at the Bridport Literary Festival. Val used to read her before the stroke. Other favourite authors are Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy and detective fiction writers Margery Allingham and Lindsey [correct] Davis.

Next Thursday [Nov 17] Val and Melodie will be attending Read Easy’s fifth anniversary celebration at the Bridport Town Hall, when former graduates will recount their experiences and new ones will receive certificates from Mayor Ros Kayes.

Christian Tyler, chairman of Read Easy Bridport, said: “Val’s story is one of the most remarkable we’ve seen. Learning to read as an adult takes courage. But the results can be literally life-changing. In her case, one of the most important things in her life was restored to her.”

Asked if she was planning to read War and Peace again, Val laughed. “Not yet,” she said. “But maybe, one day, I’ll read it a fourth time – if I live long enough.”

The Bridport Easy Read group has worked with more than 70 readers, has 30 volunteer coaches, reaches to Lyme Regis and Beaminster, and has created a new group in Axminster.

Contact co-ordinator Vee Driscoll on 07849 620 113 or 0844 472 2980 or see readeasy.org.uk for more details.