Stroke survivor Sam takes gold in South Africa
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A WEIGHTLIFTING granny who fought back to health after suffering a life-threatening stroke, has won four gold medals in an international competition.
Sam Devlin (52) took ill while working out in the gym last May but her determination saw her make an amazing recovery to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Championships in South Africa earlier this month.
She picked up four golds in her class in what was her first competition in a sport she only took up last year.
She came top in the squat, bench press and deadlift, and also took a gold for being overall winner in her category.
Sam, from Cuthbert Street, Drakies, was in hospital for six weeks after the stroke and her weight went down from eight-and-a-half stone to six-and-a-half.
She said: "I had a big operation on my neck and also on my leg, but I was determined to go to these championships in South Africa.
"The surgeons had to operate on a blocked carotid artery to allow the blood to flow, but they did say that if I had not been working out and pumping blood through it then I could have died.
"I was working out in Gym 300 and my personal trainer knew what it was and they got me up to Raigmore Hospital straight away.
"My left-hand side was affected at first and I could not feel my left arm for a week. It was frightening at the time."
Sam has recovered so much that she has now set her sights on competing for Scotland in the European Championships in December.
She said: "I just started a new programme of training for the European on Tuesday, and was really sore afterwords.
"It is a much heavier programme, and a lot more intense, but if I work hard then I will have a chance of being selected for the team to represent Scotland at Horne Castle in Lincolnshire."
A dietician from Raigmore Hospital gave Sam much help with what to eat to build up her weight and strength for South Africa and very soon she made it to her target weight of 57kg with a correct formula of protein and carbohydrates.
Sam is the only member of her family who is a powerlifter. Her husband Scott (52) is a football fan, while her four boys Stephen (33), Paul (32), Scott (29) and Ross (25) are into various martial arts.
"I got into the sport quite late and it’s brilliant," she said. "My sons are into cardiovascular stuff, but I wasn’t and I just slipped into powerlifting after doing some weights at the gym and now I really enjoy it.
"It can be quite therapeutic and helps with tension."
