the Island is failing the sufferers.

The claim was made yesterday by the new Bermuda Stroke and Family Support Association.

It was set up in July amid mounting concern over the lot of stroke sufferers.

Association organisers claim sufferers face enormous problems in getting back to work -- despite a successful recovery.

"They are considered victims, and don't have the opportunity of another job,'' said Mr. Mark Selley, co-chairman, who suffered a stroke last November.

"It is entirely wrong to view us this way. We are not victims.'' He added: "The policies in this country are simply not geared up to help us.'' Mr. Selley, one of the unsuccessful United Bermuda Party candidates in the recent Paget West primary, said he had made a good recovery, and was still getting better.

"I am still very active politically, and have a lot of energy,'' he stressed.

He added, jokingly: "I've still got a big mouth. Nobody is going to shut me up.'' Fellow founder of the association is Mrs. Hilary Soares, coordinator of the Agape House hospice for the terminally ill.

Mrs. Soares suffered a stroke around six years ago -- and to outsiders has made a full recovery.

But she knows there are little parts of her which are different.

"Nobody can see the holes in my head. Every now and then bits of the old Hilary Soares return to me.'' Mrs. Soares said one person in Bermuda suffers a stroke every week, many seniors without realising what had caused it.

"An old lady of 80 may lose the use of her hand, but not seek medical treatment,'' she explained.

In the United States around 500,000 people a year are struck down -- a third dying within three months.

Mrs. Soares said strokes could be stress-related, or caused by blood problems.

Both she and Mr. Selley see their new group as a family support organisation.

HELPING OUT -- Mrs. Hilary Soares and Mr. Mark Selley, co-chairpersons of the new Stroke Support Association, receive a $352 cheque from Mr. John Kessaram (right), treasurer of the Pembroke Rotary Club. The money, raised through raffles and a fair, will help the new association's advertising costs.