I was 38 when I had my stroke.
Up until I got sick leading into it, it was not remotely something I considered as likely to happen to me.
I had an active lifestyle, never smoked and only had the occasional drink.
I didn’t fit the stereotype I imagined for the sort of person awaiting medical catastrophe.
But a headache that had ruled my every waking moment for nearly two weeks suddenly went from ridiculous in the debilitation I felt to a life or death emergency as my carotid arteries both dissected resulting in a clot lodging in the right side of my brain and paralysing my entire left side.
I’ve never been so determined
Crossing 2 metres of floor to reach my phone after I’d fallen took every ounce of effort even as I imagined how silly I must look scrambling with my good arm to get myself there.
Mercifully, the phone recognised me and unlocked to return the missed call from my fiancée. I figured getting her home would make it easier on the ambulance crew as I’d latched the deadlock preparing for a sleep to escape the headache.
The race to get help
Ellie raced home and raised the alarm, I thought I did a tremendous job of waiting with her for their seemingly immediate arrival but in truth, I’d handed over to her almost the moment she arrived and regained consciousness upon being questioned by the paramedics.
Whisked off to the hospital
Everything from that moment went according to the textbook.
I was brought straight to the hospital and taken directly in for a CT scan to confirm the diagnosis.
Knowing the type of stroke and the timeframe of symptoms made me a prime candidate for medical intervention. Thrombolysis (the use of drugs to break up a clot) has only a short window of effectiveness and thankfully it worked beautifully.
Life on the stroke ward
Life on the stroke ward taught me quickly how lucky I’d been. The medicine had done the heavy lifting and my work was in regaining strength rather than function for the most part.
My voice was gone though, barely a whisper remained and upon discharge, it was into rehab and the tremendous knowledge of the speech pathologists at CRU.
Together we can beat stroke
The Stroke Foundation were there long before I needed them. Their work ensured my care was best practice and the results speak for themselves.
Help me ensure their knowledge continues to grow and be shared so that more of the stories of stroke are of continuing improvement.
Together we can prevent treat and beat stroke!