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My life was changed in a day

Stroke survivor at 18

By Isobel FordPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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On Monday 13th May 2019 I was a normal 18 year old student, went out clubbing that night like every other week.

On the tuesday I woke up with a splitting headache, I thought it was just a hangover. it was a really sunny day and my friends and I decided to go get a meal deal and sit outside and then head to the library. I found it hard to concentrate and ended up leaving the library as the lights were affecting my vision and my headache was horrendous.

On the wednesday I was in so much agony I was confined to a dark room, I started to tingling sensations down my right side of my body and periods of time where I was unable to move it but then it would return to normal. I tried to book a doctors appointment for the next day online.

On the Thursday, I dragged myself outside with sunnies on to the doctors, turned out I had booked the wrong week. I left the surgery crying and rang my dad who told me to go back in and tell them my symptoms, I downplayed my symptoms to my parents as I didn’t want them to worry, what with them being near to 4 hours away. I was offered a telephone appointment with my gp. She couldn’t have sounded more fed up, making me feel like a waste of time. She told me it was just a migraine with some aura and should take some co codemol. when I asked if I could have a sick note for my exam on friday she told me i’d be fine.

On the Friday I woke myself up early for my 9am exam. My leg felt heavy at this point and I pretty much dragged myself half an hour to university to sit an exam. I had forgotten my glasses and was a couple minutes late because I was limping in pain and when I was told to find a seat I had to ask an invigilator to point me to a free seat as I couldn’t see. I left the exam hall as quickly as possible to crawl back into bed.

On the Saturday, I started to feel a bit better and my parents and sister were coming for lunch the next day but my speech went. I asked two of my flat mates if to help me make some food and we just laughed and joked about me slurring my words. I tried to shower, if anyone has seen a university bathroom the showers are tiny cubicles and mine didn’t drain properly (I was a poor uni student - who has money to waste on drain blocker when you could be drinking?). Whilst standing in the shower I lost all feeling in half my body, I slid down the wall and onto the floor of the shower unable to move or turn it off, I flooded the bathroom. I dragged myself out of the shower which was very painful and I was in floods of tears, gripping the sink I tried to pull myself up but ended up falling back down, I crawled out my bathroom and dragged myself into bed and fell asleep

On the friday 19th May 2019 (the exact year ago today I’ll add!) I woke up to a call from my mum checking if i was getting up, I couldn’t talk. She thought I was laughing down the phone but i was sobbing, whilst on the phone I had a seizure. My parents realised something was wrong and called an ambulance and my university accommodation staff. I was found by the security guard still having a seizure pretty much naked (very embarrassing for both me and the paramedic who had to dress me, for some reason he picked my pyjama top that says “don’t be a dick” on the front?!?)

The ambulance arrived and thought it was an overdose and took over 2 hours to take me to hospital. My parents rang my best friend who drove back from home to uni as she was closer and she was my advocate that I was really unwell and I didn’t do this on purpose.

I had my initial CT and it was confirmed I had had a stroke. The MRI told us it was a Venous sinus thrombosis with bilateral frontal haemorragic infants (basically a clot in my brain that had bleed around my brain) and I was transferred hospitals and into the stroke ward.

There were so many warning signs that I ignored and looking back i was so stupid but we can’t change the past. I want to warn people about the signs because who thinks an 18 year old could have a stroke? I never thought this would happen in a million years but here I am, I don’t know what I thought was wrong with me, but it definitely wasn’t this.

I am so lucky that I managed to come out of this situation alive but it was only the beginning, recovery is always the hardest part.

recovery
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About the Creator

Isobel Ford

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