Dancer's family were told to say goodbye after stroke - now he hopes to perform again

After a dancer suffered a sudden stroke, doctors told his family to say goodbye as there was nothing more they could do.

Daniel Parsonage, 29, underwent two emergency operations and spent four weeks in an induced coma in July last year. Severe bleeding on the brain meant his family feared the worst.

But he pulled through and while it was believed he would never walk or talk again, he has vowed to "keep fighting" to fully regain his speech and wants to be performing again before he turns 30.

Intensive speech and physiotherapy means he can now form sentences and walk short distances with a mobility aid.

Dan, from north Wales, began "feeling funny" and passed out while preparing for a dance in Hawarden, Flintshire, on 12 July 2025.

"I was taken to a family room on my own and [Dan] was taken through to A&E," said his mum Claire.

"All I remember is them saying 'you need to call the family in. There's nothing we can do... say your goodbyes'.

"It was horrible."

But Dan has defied the prognosis and, as he looks to the future, said: "I hope I feel normal again."

He had specialised in street dance since he was 11 and described his health over the years as "completely fine".

His fitness levels were good at the time of his sudden symptomless stroke, as he was playing weekly football matches and training for the Chester Marathon.

Two weeks before he collapsed, mum Claire even checked his blood pressure with a home device as she tested her own, and Dan's dad Wayne's.

He was "absolutely fine", she said, adding: "He had absolutely no symptoms."

When a friend called to say he had collapsed while preparing for the performance at the Hawarden Summer Carnival, they suspected it might just be from fainting.

When his parents arrived, Claire said they saw Dan on the floor with "sheets around him", he was limp on one side of his body and had been sick.

An ambulance arrived and rushed him to the Countess of Chester Hospital.

A stroke happens when blood stops flowing to part of your brain, according to the NHS.

It can affect things such as speech and movement, and take a long time to recover from.

It can be life-threatening if a patient does not get urgent medical help.

While strokes happen most often in people over 70, rates among younger adults (18 to 65) have risen in recent years, according to the Stroke Association.

The main symptoms of a stroke can emerge suddenly.

They may include:

• face weakness - one side of your face may droop (fall) and it might be hard to smile
• arm weakness - you may not be able to fully lift both arms and keep them there because of weakness or numbness in one arm
• speech problems - you may slur your words or sound confused

In Dan's case, tests diagnosed a bleed on his brain caused by high blood pressure.

A consultant neurosurgeon made the call to send Dan to The Walton Centre in Liverpool, where thy could "give it a go" to try and save his life.

"If [consultant neurosurgeon] Prof [Andrew] Broadbelt hadn't stepped in, Dan wouldn't be here today," Claire said.

An emergency surgery on 14 July to stop the bleeding and another on 16 July where a large part of his skull was removed to allow his brain to swell more safely saved his life.

He then spent four weeks in an induced coma.

Doctors told the family there was a large section of Dan's brain that would not work again, so they should expect him to never walk or talk again.

Claire said: "As long as he woke up, we didn't care.

"That's all we wanted."

The mother-of-three said the four weeks waiting to see if Dan woke up were "tough" but she was "happy" when she saw his eyes flicker and then open for 10 minutes in mid-August 2025.

Dan, who worked as a supermarket team leader, said: "I remember waking up and thinking 'where am I?' and that I couldn't speak words."

The lack of speech continued for nine weeks until Dan's best friend visited him in hospital one day and Claire was shocked when he said "Hi Ben".

Dan has had speech therapy to improve his diction, as well as physiotherapy for eight months.

He has gone from not being able to lift himself up in bed to using a wheelchair and walking short distances with a mobility aid.

His speech has also gone from non-existent to speaking in sentences.

"I get up and shower, I put my clothes on, I do my [face] cream and I do my hair," Dan said, of his morning routine.

His confidence also grew when he no longer had to wear a helmet after he had surgery in February to replace the missing section of his skull with an artificial plate.

Dan's goal is to be able to dance again before his 30th birthday in March.

"I hope I see a bigger and better version of myself than ever before," he said.

Claire said: "From us being told Dan was not going to make it, then he wouldn't be able to walk or talk, to where he is now, it's just amazing.

"We want to spread awareness that [strokes can] happen to younger people and even when you're told there's no hope there actually is.

"Daniel's showing that because he just keeps fighting all the way through.

"He keeps pushing himself and I'm very proud of him."

Dan is sharing his story as part of Channel 4's Trauma: My Broken Brain.