Becki Cobb

I suffered from a stroke at the age of 21, half way through my last year at university. Before it happened I was always busy partying with my friends, working at my part time job, interning at a local radio station or studying at university. Waking up for  work I jumped out of bed and pulled on my fave Urban Outfitters clothes, did my hair and make up and headed downstairs to grab an apple for my 40 minute journey. Debating whether or not to get a bus I quickly decided against it as the sun was almost shining and a bus would cost me £3.80. About 20 minutes into the journey I started to feel light headed, assuming it was because I skipped breakfast I started to eat my apple. As I took the second bite I collapsed, so much for an apple a day keeps the doctors away.

I was outside a pub when the stroke hit, not realizing what had just happened to me I desperately tried to get back on my feet and grabbed the top of a bin, poorly attempting to pull myself up. Disgusting but I was desperate. Luckily a police car was driving by as I collapsed and two policemen stopped to help me, calling an ambulance and trying to help me into their police car, offering to drive me to work, but even with their help I couldn’t stand up. I remember them asking me these three questions "have you taken anything?" "have you been drinking?" "were you out last night?" Well I was outside a pub and the sad truth is most people would never assume a young student collapsed in the street would have just suffered from a stroke. Whilst I tried to explain that I was on my way to work I realised that 'Urban Outfitters', two words that since October had rolled off my tongue with ease were two words that I could no longer pronounce. I count myself lucky that this is the only time I really struggled to communicate.

Waking up in hospital I had no idea what was going on, I thought I had just fallen over and cut my knees declaring to my friends "only I could walk to work and end up in A&E" and asking my mum "why don’t they give this bed to somebody who needs it?" I was so naive until I overheard a doctor saying I had had a stroke, I started to cry but had no idea what it meant. I quickly snapped out of it knowing that being upset wasn’t going to help me get better.

On the day of my stroke my friends were told there was a chance I would never recover but less than 6 weeks since I was admitted I was discharged to my student house in Brighton, I am able to walk around with the aid of a leg splint to support my ankle and a walking stick both of which I will eventually lose and am slowly seeing movement coming back in my arm. Everyone said how proud of me they were for being so determined and positive throughout it all but the truth is I knew that was what I had to do to recover and so I just dealt with it, it’s been hard but I’m getting there. Please feel free to read my full recovery story/contact me from my blog at: lifestrokeadventures.tumblr.com

16.11.2011 Becki was recently interviewed for Life magazine. See the interview here.

Thanks to Becki for sending in her 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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