Adam Hulme

I had my stroke summer 2005 and I found reading the survivor stories a great help. I was a reasonably fit 41 year old when it happened and it was a massive shock. So writing my own survivor story to help new stroke survivors is the least I can do. So here we go.

The story starts with me packing the car for a journey to the South of France for a camping holiday. I was off work for my 6-week summer break so I had plenty of time to pack the car and trailer for the journey. We set off Friday morning early, for a lunch time ferry. We arrived at Dover no problems, 4-hour drive. The ferry took about 2 hours and we were back on the road. We drove to Troyes approximately a 5-hour drive. We were stopping overnight in a Formula 1 (a French Motel). We checked in and went out for something to eat. We then had a good nights sleep ready for the rest of the journey the following day. The next day was glorious and sunny, we set off about 9am for the rest of our journey. The traffic was horrendous and we were down to a crawl for at least half of the journey. The kids were fine in the back watching a DVD and the heat wasn't a problem as we had air conditioning. We arrived in St Tropez at about 8pm, 2 or 3 hours after my planned arrival. I then with the help of my son put up the tent. It went up reasonably well and we had finished in about 30 mins. It was very hot and humid and I can remember sweating a lot. We had some food and had a well-earned rest.

The following morning (Sunday 31st July) I woke feeling very thirsty. We showered had breakfast and went down to the pool area for a lazy day sunbathing. The weather was fantastic, a perfect summer's day. The kids were playing in the pool, Angela and I were sunbathing. It was getting very hot, so I went for a dip in the pool; I spent about 10-15 minutes playing with the kids. I returned to my sunbed to dry off in the sun. After about 10 minutes I started to hear a buzzing noise. I asked Ang if she could hear it, she thought I was being silly. "Don't be daft there isn't a noise" she said, but I insisted there was a noise. I went to put my fingers in my ears to stop the noise and missed, my hand hit my face. I traced my fingers across my face to my ears and put them in. The noise carried on. I had been stood up during this and I can remember feeling a need to just lie down on the floor. At this point Ang realised there was something wrong and called the lifeguard. My face had dropped and Ang actually said to me "you look like you're having a stroke." I couldn't talk by this time. The lifeguard called an ambulance. They put me on oxygen and took me to the local hospital in St Tropez.

I was seen and assessed in casualty by a Doctor. My symptoms were now: a bad head ache at the back of my head, loss of sight (hemianopsia) in both eyes and limited use of my left arm and leg. I could walk but I was very unstable. I was unable to talk properly, and slurring my words. I obviously had difficulty communicating and my French is very limited to say the least. They kept me for 3-4 hours, gave me some paracetamol for the pain and said that I had had a body migraine. We returned to the campsite, (Angela drove us back) and I just needed to lie down. So I rested in the tent while Ang took the kids for something to eat. I didn't feel hungry, so I asked Ang to bring me some chips back from the take away. When she returned I had my food and went to bed. I felt really tired. During the night I woke up feeling very nauseous and I was violently sick.

In the morning I didn't feel much better, so I asked Ang to get me a doctor. Luckily there was a doctor already on the campsite so he was with me within 10 minutes. We explained what had happened to him and he sent us back to casualty with a note for the doctor. This time, in casualty they decided to do a brain scan which suggested that I had had a stroke, so they transferred me to another hospital in Toulon, about an hour away. When I arrived at Toulon Hospital within a couple of hours they had done an MRI. The following day (Tuesday) the neurologist informed me that I had had a stroke. He said there was no treatment for it and in France they used aspirin to thin the blood to prevent any further strokes. I was able to feed myself and I could just manage to walk. I had lost my sense of direction and was very disorientated. My speech had improved and I was able to talk slowly. During my hospitalisation Ang had been arranging with the insurance company our journey home. They kept me in hospital until Wednesday afternoon. The neurologist had spoken to the insurance company and agreed that I was able to fly home. We returned to the campsite Wednesday afternoon; Ang had transferred from the tent to a mobile home, (she couldn't face sleeping in the tent on her own with the kids). We were booked on a flight from Nice the following day about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

Thursday morning when I woke my whole left side had gone numb with pins and needles. This worried me but I just wanted to get home and see an English doctor so I didn't go back to the hospital. The kids packed all the camping equipment away in the car and trailer, ready for the breakdown company to pick it up. A taxi took us to the airport and in England, there was a taxi waiting for us at the airport for the final leg of our journey.

Friday morning I went to see my GP, she checked my blood pressure, which was fine and referred me for an urgent appointment to see a neurologist. It was 6 weeks before I saw a neurologist, I complained to my GP about the delay but she said that my condition was stable and the 6 week wait would not make any difference to my recovery. During this time I was feeling low and very emotional. The stroke had affected my emotions, I was crying 2-3 times a day. I could feel myself sliding into a depression. I went to see my GP; she was worried about me and told Ang to keep an eye on me. She wanted to put me on anti-depressants but I didn't want to take them. If I took them I felt it was like giving in to it. Then one day about 4 weeks after the event I woke up in the morning and my sight had improved. My blind spot as I called it had reduced; it was now in the top left corner of my visual field (Quadrantanopsia). This made me feel a lot more optimistic about my recovery. I started walking a couple of miles every day and I would give myself small jobs to do. The jobs gave me a sense of achievement and relieved the depression.

When I finally saw the neurologist I explained what had happened and gave him the MRI scan that I had done in France. He explained that my recovery would take time and wouldn't make any promises as to how much of a recovery I would make. He said that I should not drive (which I hadn't been doing) and that I was to inform the DVLA. They took some blood for tests and he said that he would look at the MRI scan in detail the following day with a specialist from Leeds.

The consultant telephoned me at home the next day. He said they had looked at the scan and notes from France and confirmed that I had suffered a Basilar artery dissection. He asked if I could remember having any kind of trauma to the back of my head, top of my neck, in the couple of weeks that preceded the stroke. He also asked if I had had my hair cut and washed in one of the reverse sinks. Prior to my stroke I had my hair cut and washed as I have done for the last 20 years, I also played 5 a-side football and I can remember colliding with another player and knocking my head back. When it happened I didn't think much about it and carried on playing. I have had worse collisions.

When I saw the consultant again after about 4 weeks, he said that my blood test was completely normal. We discussed the possible causes of my stroke. I told him about the football incident and he said it could have caused it but he wouldn't commit himself. He also said that it can just happen, spontaneously. He reassured me that the artery would heal and that I should carry on walking and building my strength up as I had been doing. I was to carry on taking 75mgs of aspirin daily and he arranged another appointment for me to coincide with 6 months after the event.

I carried on walking and started cycling (which was a bit unsteady at first) trying to build my strength and stamina up. We had booked a skiing holiday (to the French Alps) with another 2 families before I had my stroke and I wanted to be able to go. I couldn't get insurance cover for my stroke because 6 months had not elapsed since the event. The insurance company would not cover me for anything related to my stroke, but they would cover any skiing related injuries. I decided that it was very unlikely that I would have another stroke. Also, we were travelling with another 2 families which gave Ang and the kids a bit more security. We had skied before; this was our third skiing holiday so at least I wasn't a beginner. The holiday went well; everybody had a great time. It helped me build up the strength and control in my left arm and leg. It was like a week of intensive physiotherapy. It was also our first holiday since the event and it was nice just to complete it without any mishaps.

I was still off work and planned to go back after I had seen my consultant for the 6 month appointment. I was feeling stronger and my stamina levels were increasing. The consultant discharged me, he said there was nothing more he could do for me and that I would continue to improve over the next few years. I was trying to get my driving licence back from the DVLA. I had done a visual field test at the local hospital and the DVLA medical advisors after a bit of arguing agreed to give me my licence back. This was a real boost and life was starting to return to normal.

I went back to work; they had arranged a phased return for me. Over a 5 week period my teaching timetable increased from assisting the supply teacher to teaching by myself. This seemed to be going well to start with, but the pressure of the GCSE coursework started to overwhelm me. I wasn't as well as I thought I was and I was getting upset. School asked if I would like some counselling to help with my recovery. I said yes and had 3 sessions which helped a great deal. It is now nearly a year since my stroke and I feel like I have turned a corner. I have finally come to terms with it and accepted that it has happened. I am coping a lot better with work and I feel that it is now behind me. I valued and enjoyed life before my stroke, but since having it, I realise how lucky I am to be alive and able to relish my wonderful family.

I wish all the best to everyone who reads this and hope you recover as well as I did. - Adam

Thanks to Adam for sending in his profile. Anyone else who would like to share their story can send it along with a photograph (if you're not shy!)

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