planned.

Mr. Mark Selley, who suffered a stroke last year, said he is working on plans for the support group with AIDS hospice unit coordinator Mrs. Hillary Soares, who suffered a stroke several years ago.

"We are going to actively go out into the community with the idea of creating a support group,'' Mr. Selley said. "We want to show families that stroke victims need support more than medicine.'' At the same time, he said, the families themselves often need support when they are suddenly faced with caring for a stroke victim and dealing with the high financial costs that are often involved.

The support could be "a source of revenue and an wealth of information,'' he said.

"It's not so much for the stroke victim, but to show families what the stroke victims require in the realm of support. You have to remember that all these people that have strokes have lives.'' Mr. Selley said stroke support groups are very common in the States, and he attended weekly meetings while in hospital in Boston.

"Anybody who wishes to get involved can contact Hillary Soares or myself,'' Mr. Selley said.

"We need to get this off the ground as soon as possible. ...Every week somebody has a stroke.''