Exeter woman defies stroke at 29 to launch stand-up comedy career
An Exeter woman who had a stroke aged just 29 has turned to comedy to help rebuild her life and confidence.
Molly Kinsey’s act focusses on the chaos of being a mum to her young son, and audiences are stunned when she reveals that she is a stroke survivor. She is determined to show that she isn’t letting the memory problems, fatigue, and eyesight problems she’s been left with since her stroke in 2022 stop her from following her passion.
Molly, who will be performing at the Bootlegger in Fore Street, Exeter, on Friday 31 July, said: “During my act, when I tell people that I’ve had a stroke, the room goes really quiet. No one knows what to say. But it’s fun to be a bit daft about it – and I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. I enjoy taking the mickey out of myself.
“On stage, the most difficult thing is that my brain just blanks out, and I think what am I doing? I have to give myself a minute - it’s like a computer where I just turn myself on and off again.
“The best thing is when I come off stage and other people who have had a stroke come up and talk to me. When they talk about their aspirations after a stroke, I say ‘just do it’.”
Molly is sharing her story to challenge the myth that stroke is something that only happens to older people, and to raise awareness of the support available from the Stroke Association, the UK’s leading charity providing life-long support for all stroke survivors and their loved ones.
When she had a stroke Molly, who lives in St Thomas, had no idea that her life was about to split into a clear before and after.
Molly said: “I’d felt awful for a while. Then one morning I woke up blind in my left eye. I remember thinking something was really wrong, but I never once thought it could be a stroke.”
In A&E at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, doctors initially suspected a migraine until a brain scan confirmed a stroke Molly was also told she had already had two previous strokes earlier in her life without even knowing about it.
Before the stroke, Molly describes herself as confident, capable, and sharp. She said: “I genuinely believed I had an excellent memory. I trusted myself, I had self-belief, and after the stroke, it felt like all of that just disappeared.”
Doctors later identified the cause of Molly’s stroke as a patent foramen ovale – known as a PFO which is a small hole in the heart that, in some people, fails to close after birth. In a small number of cases, a PFO can allow blood clots to pass from the heart to the brain, increasing the risk of stroke. Molly has since had surgery to close the hole.
Molly said: “Finding out there was this literal hole in my heart was surreal and I couldn’t understand how I didn’t know about having two previous strokes. I felt a strange mix of embarrassment and shame, even though I’d done nothing wrong. It’s hard to explain, but I felt broken.
“Alongside the physical symptoms came a heavy emotional toll. I was depressed for a long time. I was anxious, exhausted, and trying to be a mum at the same time. I felt guilty - like I’d put my family through something awful.
“Socially, life changed too. People acted like I shouldn’t go on a night out or have a pint at the pub because I’d been ill. Suddenly I felt fragile in other people’s eyes, even though I was still me.
“I really thought, that’s it, that’s me done now. I stopped thinking about my dreams entirely. I assumed my memory issues meant I’d never be able to do the things I once wanted to achieve.”
One dream in particular, had always quietly followed her: stand-up comedy. Molly said: “I’d always wanted to do it. But after the stroke and brain injury, I just assumed it was impossible. I told myself I’d never remember material, never be confident enough, never be quick enough. Recently, I realised the only person actually stopping me was me. That was a big moment.”
At 33, Molly decided to give stand-up comedy a go - and to her surprise, it’s going well. After joining a comedy course led by Maggie Irving, then testing her new skills at an open mic night at the Bootlegger last November, Molly has been on the bill at a number of events in the city, including Squawkers at the Exeter Comedy Festival.
In October, she’ll be appearing at the Penzance Comedy Festival.
Molly, who recently started a new job as events administrator at Exeter Phoenix multi-artform venue, said: “I’m proving myself wrong, which feels incredible. Stroke can happen at any age. And when it does, you are still you. You’re not finished. You’re not broken beyond repair.
“I’m grateful I came out the other end. Now, I feel like I owe it to myself to live, to try new things and to follow my dreams - even if they scare me. I thought my story ended with a stroke. But it turns out, it was just the beginning of a different chapter.
“My husband Alan is incredibly supportive. I couldn’t have started this without him.”
Molly turned to the Stroke Association’s online resources to help her understand her stroke and find useful information.
She said: “I found the website especially helpful in having things to give my employer to let them know what had happened and how they could support me.”
Jacqui Cuthbert, the Stroke Association’s associate director for the South West and Channel Islands, said: “It’s wonderful to see how Molly’s courage and determination to overcome her difficulties after her stroke has led to these exciting opportunities. We wish her every success.”
For more information about stroke and the support services for survivors and carers in Devon, visit the Stroke Association website www.stroke.org.uk or call the Stroke Support Helpline on 0303 3033 100.
