A 26-YEAR-OLD musician from Axbridge is hoping to hit the charts with her new album after overcoming a stroke. Jennifer Stanley, pictured above, of The Rising, has dreamt of becoming a star since she was a teenager and finished her degree in music in Brig

A 26-YEAR-OLD musician from Axbridge is hoping to hit the charts with her new album after overcoming a stroke.Jennifer Stanley, pictured above, of The Rising, has dreamt of becoming a star since she was a teenager and finished her degree in music in Brighton last year.However, on the day she was due to graduate Jenny suffered a stroke after a bad migraine and lost some of her eyesight.She was taken to Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, where she stayed for two weeks while they carried out numerous tests, but doctors have still not worked out what is wrong with her. She said: "I've always suffered from bad migraines, where I lose the power of speech and get numbness in my hands and face, but it normally stops after an hour."This time the numbness didn't go away. I had no strength down my left-hand side and the doctors thought I'd had a stroke. I lost the peripheral vision in my left eye. It was very frightening."They thought I was suffering from a brain tumour."Jenny still has poor vision and has had to give up her administration job because she cannot be in bright rooms or use computers as it makes her feel sick.She has a constant headache, distorted vision and stammers when she is tired, but all the doctors can do is treat the symptoms.Doctors now believe Jenny could be suffering from complicated migraine syndrome, which mimics a stroke. The symptoms could be permanent and she has to wear special sunglasses, day and night, to help her see.However, Jenny has not let her illness get her down and while she was in hospital she taught herself to play the guitar.She said: "It's been good for my music because I haven't been able to work. While I was in hospital I wrote all the backing tracks for my songs, it really got me through it all."After three months of recuperation Jenny performed at Axbridge's Fun Day last month and received an encore. It was the first time she had performed with her guitar and she was blown away by the response.She has now found a backing band and has started touring in Brighton, Cornwall and Somerset.The musician, who's stage name is Jennfer, describes her music as a mix of acoustic, rock and folk.She is hoping to release her album in December and is looking for a record deal.Anyone interested in booking her for a gig can email her at jennifer_stanley@hotmail.com or visit www.myspace.com\jennferinabox