A retired Scottish teacher has said playing bridge helped her rebuild her life and memory after a stroke led to her being placed under a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) notice.
Alice Cowieson, from Dairsie, near Cupar, Fife, is speaking out as part of a Scottish Bridge campaign to encourage more people to try the card game.
The 75-year-old former primary school drama teacher suffered a stroke and respiratory arrest after being diagnosed with vasculitis last summer.
She spent several weeks at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy while doctors tried to manage a clot on her lung and a bleed on her brain.
Ms Cowieson faced a long recovery, including fatigue, sight problems and difficulty concentrating.
Bridge, which she had first taken up 18 years earlier, became one of the things that helped her begin to feel like herself again.
“The night I collapsed, there was a do-not-resuscitate notice over me. That probably tells you how serious it was,” Ms Cowieson said.
“Before this happened, I was fit, healthy, enjoying life. Then suddenly I was very seriously ill. I had to accept that.
“Bridge started as something to keep my mind sharp in retirement, but it became so much more than that.
“When I was seriously ill, it gave me something to work towards. I could only manage a few hands at first, but gradually my concentration came back. Getting back to the table felt like proof that I was still me.”
Ms Cowieson first discovered bridge after retiring from teaching and stepping back from amateur dramatics, including directing and producing local productions in Cupar and Tayport.
She took up the card game to “keep her mind sharp” in retirement after a 25-year teaching career.
What began as one lesson a week soon grew into regular practice sessions with other beginners over tea and cake.
Ms Cowieson later joined Dundee Bridge Club, became editor of its magazine, and went on to serve as club president.
She now plays up to five days a week, sometimes six, and has competed around Scotland, including against grand masters.
She said: “Bridge definitely keeps your brain working. There is so much skill to it. You have to be on the ball – you can’t not.
During her hospital stay, Ms Cowieson said the bridge community “rallied round”, visiting her, sending cards and even playing hands with her as she recovered.
“At first I could only manage a few hands before my concentration went,” she said.
“But gradually I built it back up. Bridge helped me recover mentally as well as physically.”
After three months away from the club, Ms Cowieson returned first to a social session, then to an online competition with her regular partner to test whether she could last a full session.
“When I finally got back to the table, it felt great,” she said.
“I felt as if I had succeeded in kicking this into touch. I can drive, I can walk, I can talk, I can play bridge five days a week and I can potter in the garden. I am so lucky.”
She added: “Some people think bridge is socially elite, but it isn’t, it’s for everybody. I would say – do it. Get in there, get some lessons, find a partner, find a club. Learn the basics and then take it wherever you want it to go.”
