From Silence to Song: Bruce Hughes Rewrites Stroke Survival in New Brunswick

In a recent episode of The Carr Brothers Show on CHCO-TV, musician and former radio host Bruce Hughes shared the harrowing details of a near-fatal stroke that left him unable to speak, move, or breathe on his own. The segment provided an unflinching look at the shortcomings in stroke awareness, emergency response, and post-acute care in New Brunswick, while underscoring the power of patient-led advocacy.

Hughes suffered multiple strokes in 2017, following an intense period of caregiving for his wife, who had been injured in a crash caused by a texting driver. Initially misdiagnosed in the emergency room, Hughes went more than three hours without proper intervention. His condition worsened until a neurologist recognized the severity of his symptoms and arranged for an urgent transfer to Saint John. There, Hughes underwent an endovascular thrombectomy—a rare procedure in the province at the time, with a survival rate of less than 3 percent.

His story, now chronicled in the bestselling memoir A Stroke of Luck, reflects what he describes as systemic unpreparedness in rural emergency care. “Three and a half hours in the ER and no one knew what was happening,” Hughes told the Carr brothers. “If I hadn’t been moved when I was, I wouldn’t be here.”

Remarkably, Hughes recovered at a pace that surprised even his care team—progress he attributes in part to his background in music. As a former touring artist, he believes the cognitive flexibility required to learn and perform new songs conditioned his brain to adapt. “Every time you learn a new song, you’re rewiring your brain,” he explained.

Today, Hughes volunteers as a patient adviser at Fredericton’s hospital, helping stroke patients and their families understand that recovery, real recovery, is still possible. Too often, he says, patients are discharged into long-term care without being told that meaningful motor and cognitive gains can still be made. “My goal,” he said, “is to help people get home, not institutionalized.”

The interview steered clear of sentimentality, focusing instead on structural failures—from delayed diagnoses in ERs to the underutilization of therapies like music-based rehabilitation. Hughes was clear-eyed about his outcome: “I got lucky,” he said. “But luck shouldn’t be your only chance.”

A Stroke of Luck, which Hughes self-published, has become the top-selling book in New Brunswick this year. While accessible and personal, the memoir serves as a pointed critique of how stroke survivors are diagnosed, spoken to, and rehabilitated in the province.

In a region with an aging population and limited neurology services outside urban centres, Hughes’ story is more than one man’s recovery—it’s a call to action for a system in urgent need of reform.