A retired pilot has been left unable to talk or swallow after he suffered what he thought was just a headache as he mowed his lawn.
Les Bell, 72, can now only communicate through eye contact, small nods and grunts and has lost feeling in the right side of his body. One week before falling ill, the independent and active dad ran a monthly pilot training course at Gatwick Airport.
He would travel from Carmarthen to the Sussex airport to deliver the week-long course. Les’ multi-decade-long career in aviation saw him fly with British Airways, Invicta Airways, Dan Air, Laker Airways, and more before becoming a flight instructor at TG Aviation at Manston and subsequently taking up the role of flight training consultant at Gatwick.
View 2 ImagesLes Bell spent decades working in aviation(Image: Jessica Grieve )
“He has been a pilot his entire life,” his daughter Jessica explained. “He started working on aircraft at 14 years old as an apprentice and learning engineering.
“He started off as a ground engineer and then worked his way up and then became a flight engineer and he’s flown with British Airways and all sorts of companies over the years both with freight and passenger. He’d literally just done that course the week before the stroke.
“He loved his work, he loved having purpose, he loved being still attached to the aviation industry even though he was at an age and health-wise where he couldn’t fly anymore. He is a very, very intelligent man, very capable, and you wouldn’t have known that he was 72.”
Les was at his home in Cardigan with his wife and son on May 11. The three of them had recently relocated from Dorset and Kent to be closer to Les’ daughter Jessica and her family, reports WalesOnline.
During the day Les had a minor headache but didn’t think more of it. But in the evening the head pain suddenly became unbearable. Jessica said: “He was simply mowing the lawn and then he came in holding his head and just sort shouting going ‘oh my head, my head. Initially we thought he just had a bit of a headache.'”
Jessica added her mum and brother wondered why he was being so dramatic about what seemed to be just be a headache but then his symptoms became more severe to just be a headache. Within minutes his words became jumbled and he stopped making sense.
When Jessica got to her parents’ house she noticed the right corner of his mouth had started to droop and she immediately realised it might be a stroke. She called 999 and to her dismay was told an ambulance could take between three to seven hours. She realised the best option would be to take her dad to hospital and so she promptly drove 50 minutes to their nearest hospital, Glangwili in Carmarthen.
Her dad is now in a critical condition on the acute stroke ward unable to communicate or move the right side of his body. Jessica added: “We don’t know the prognosis, only time will tell, but he is in a critical condition and it’s likely to remain that way for some months.”
In just over one week, doctors told Les’ family he has lost at least 30 per cent of his muscle mass and the only communication they’ve had with him is the occasional nod or shake of his head. Jessica has now applied for power of attorney but the application can take up to 10 weeks.
In the meantime, the family were unsure how they would pay for their rent, bills or food shop as they wait on the application to be accepted. Les’ daughter said the response to a fundraiser they have set up has been “overwhelming”. Within just four days, the gofundme has raised over £2,000 and Jessica hopes the money will enable her family to stay in the “lovely, peaceful” bungalow they have moved to in Cardigan despite the future looking so unclear.
Jessica praised the care her dad had received at the Glangwili Hospital: “The care that he’s got at Glangwili is absolutely incredible. He’s in the acute stroke ward and they are taking such good care of him and not just him, but the family.
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“They have time for us, they are caring for us as a family, they’re offering us tea and coffee, giving us their time, and they don’t mind us asking questions.”