Julia Russell
I was at work one afternoon in March 2007 and had a really bad headache. When I got home I went to bed early to sleep it off.
I slept well, but the next morning, I still had the headache. I remember saying to my husband that I didn’t feel right and I felt I was going to collapse, within seconds I did.
He picked me up from the floor and there was panic in his voice. He called the doctor, as he could see that my face had dropped and he thought that I was having a stroke. It seemed very strange to me, as I thought people my age don’t have strokes.
He spoke to a doctor who arranged an appointment for me to see a doctor at the local hospital. When we arrived, we waited 30 minutes, and I was still able to walk into his room.
While we were speaking with the doctor I collapsed again. My husband asked the doctor if he was 100% sure that I was not having a stroke and he replied yes, he said that I was just suffering from a migraine and put me on oxygen for a while.
We left the hospital that morning and I managed to walk back to the car. I spent the day in bed sleeping and in the evening, when my headache was unbearable, I asked to be taken back to hospital.
It wasn’t until then that it was discovered that I could not walk, and needed to be carried to the car.
When we arrived at the hospital we finally got to see a doctor in the early hours of the morning. By then we realised that I had lost my vision on the left side. It was not until 3 days later that I was given a scan which discovered I had a stroke and I was put on aspirin.
After staying in hospital for 3 weeks, and with the help of intensive physiotherapy I was able to walk again, but this was hard due to the loss of feeling in my left foot. There was no improvement in my vision and my left hand and arm was very weak.
After a long 2 months I returned to my part time work. I still struggled with my left foot, leg, arm, and the loss of left peripheral vision stopped me from driving.
My life was good again, until February 2011, when another one struck.
This time things were handled very different. The ambulance arrived within minutes and with sirens and blue flashing lights I was rushed to hospital, where the stroke team were waiting for me.
Within an hour I had a scan and they confirmed that it was another stroke. An MRI scan was performed within a couple of days and they established that the stroke had affected the same area of the brain as before.
After a short stay in hospital, I went back to work very quickly this time, which helped with my recovery. I still get very tired and frustrated that I am not the same person I use to be. I have good and bad days, and I find it hard to be positive particularly as they have still not found any medical reason why I have had two strokes.
I feel very lucky to have survived and I believe it is all down to my family and wonderful friends who keep me laughing and smiling.
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