Felt inspired to share my story

It’s so encouraging to read and listen to everyone’s stories and their experiences. Just to realise, unfortunately how common younger people suffer from stroke as well. My thoughts, prior to my stroke was…it’s not a young persons thing to suffer stroke. How wrong was I.

It was late November 2022, a Sunday to be exact, I got up in the morning, like any other normal day, washed my face, then it hit me, my vision went crazy, I stumbled back to bed where my then partner was, I was on the verge of passing out. It was a feeling never experienced before. Not thinking stroke, after all I was only 42 and because I have suffered from aura migraines ever since I was a teenager, so I just thought it was a real bad one of those. Of course I never went to hospital, just rested at home all day until later that night after feeling terrible, I couldn’t walk properly and my vision was no better.

After a night in my local hospital, I had a scan in the morning, by this time I was in a wheelchair, within half hour results came back and showed that I had suffered a stroke. I do recall I wasn’t too coherent to take it all in, but I remembered my partner break into tears…so in the ambulance I went an hr up the highway to Townsville hospital, where all the fun began, by this time I had no feeling down my right side, couldn’t pick up a pen to write and my leg was numb…doctors determined that I had suffered an occipital lobe stroke (ischemic)…a occipital cerebral infarction. Which is essentially an area of necrosis (tissue death) due to the blood vessel blockage. Hence my vision field loss.

Whilst in hospital, doctors were at a loss as to what caused my stroke, until I had said to them about 5 years earlier I found out I had a PFO in my heart, because back then I nearly passed out with palpitations. They were convinced that was the cause of my stroke because that was their only answer.

After a week in hospital, I was determined to get out, I didn’t want to miss both my young daughter’s end of year dance concert, thankfully I made it, albeit a struggle, but I made it, it was an emotional moment for me.

Over the perusing months, after all the rehab work, neurology and cardiology appointments I was booked into have the PFO closure. The procedure went well, but for the following 2 weeks my heart was palpitating several times a day, for sometimes 5-10 minutes at a time. Back to cardiology for more tests and was discovered this time I have AF, atrial fibrillation…which of course can be another contributing factor to stroke. To this day my cardiologist can’t say with certainty whether it was an underlining issue, already there or if it was caused by the procedure, the fact is I have it and still suffer palpitations regularly.

I did go back to work in a limited capacity but really struggled both physically and mentally, my vision disability is my main concern at the moment.

Earlier this year, I was back in the ambulance to Townsville hospital because doctors thought I was suffering another stroke, thankfully it wasn’t, but after nearly a week in hospital, I was diagnosed with FND, functional neurological disorder, basically mimicking a stroke, hence all the symptoms…back to rehab for the next few months.

As I said, my vision disability is a major thing, I now am not “legally” able to drive, I’m not working as a result, doctors have said I may have to face the fact that my vision may never fully recover. But I won’t give up hope and I’m determined to do anything I can to help restore to a level to legally drive again.

Fatigue still plagues me till this day. It’s definitely a huge mental grind. I suffer from countless aura migraines since the stroke, which definitely takes its toll.

The weakness in my right side is manageable but the no driving and loss of independence is what I really struggle with, especially having 2 young daughters, not just being able to jump in the car and go wherever we want. Or do the things we used too, that’s hard on them, but they understand. Also having to rely on other people to take me places, I hate that burden.

This November will be 2 yrs since my stroke, to think that at the time I was thinking, she’ll be right I’ll get back to what I was. Only to realise that suffering a stroke ain’t like a broken bone where you can heal and get back to things. It’s trauma to your brain, that’s a different kettle of fish. Yes I’m ok, but I know I ain’t nowhere near what I was, I’ve also come to terms with the fact that this can be a lifelong journey. It’s just a crossroad in my life, new direction.

But not once have I ever thought , why me, it is what it is, I can’t change what happened but I can make the best of what i am capable of doing. In hindsight, I obviously should have went to hospital sooner, may have save more of my vision, but then again maybe not. Or it could have been a lot worse. So I have many things to be grateful for, firstly that I’m still here, but also that I have great support from family around me and that means the world to me.