Mike Huckerby

Having looked at the majority of the survivor stories that have been posted, I feel incredibly lucky for several reasons. Firstly, I only had a very mild stroke. Secondly, I think I recently found out what caused it (well worth a further week in hospital). Finally I was back at work and back to normal life, playing golf and hockey after 6 weeks, although I've had to change the grip and rebuild the swing!

I was at work at an office in Cannon St (central London) one Friday afternoon (17/1/2003) talking to some colleagues and collapsed. When I regained consciousness, I was restrained by my colleagues and lay on the floor until an ambulance arrived. The ambulance rushed me (as far as that's possible in that area late on a Friday afternoon) to the London hospital. At this stage I do not remember suffering any specific symptoms. I was seen by a young doctor, given a blood test and eventually a chest X-ray. I believe that they were in some confusion as to whether I had had a stroke or some other kind of fit. Anyway, by about 9pm, I was allowed to leave and get the train home. I played hockey the next day but not very well. On the Monday I visited my GP who immediately sent me to Oldchurch hospital in Romford. I spent the entire day in A&E waiting for a bed to be free on a medical ward. It was chaos, with at times up to 8 ambulance crews waiting to hand over patients and get back on the road. To be fair to the hospital, it wasn't a good day. The operating theatre had a fire and had to be evacuated.

I finally got to the ward about 9pm and spent the next week there. My release was determined by the physiotherapists rather than the doctors. Once they were happy I could look after myself and had managed to arrange for some physio sessions near to home I was let out.

By this stage, I was walking OK again, my face was back to normal (horrible but true) and I was doing OK with my left arm - my typing is still not up to what it was but I was never a touch typist.

Once I was free (from hospital), I started to get back to somewhat normal life. My first outing on the golf course was a little traumatic - I was never a great golfer, but I couldn't really grip the club properly. However, with a few adjustments, I was playing nearly as before after a couple of rounds.

I went back to work and everything was normal for a while. By this stage I'd had a brain scan which clearly identified a clot in the right hand at the front of the brain and scans on the neck and heart which revealed nothing as far as I know. Isn't it annoying that you have these tests that might reveal critical information about your health and everyone on the medical side knows the result but you know nothing.

So at this stage I feel a little like many of the others whose stories are up here. I've had a stroke, wasn't sure it was diagnosed very quickly and no idea what caused it!

To make sure there are no misunderstandings, I believe that those that treated me, from the ambulance staff to the nursing staff in Oldchurch were outstanding and the advice that I received from friends in the medical profession to stick with the National Health for this sort of major treatment was accurate.

So a few months later, I was playing hockey against a bunch of old friends from Romford hockey club. During the game, I fell on my backside. Romford beat us heavily, but after the game, they bought me a much needed beer. I began to feel faint, put my glass on the table and woke up with a police woman holding me down. She's a lovely lady, the wife of an old friend. I wasn't allowed to move until the ambulance guys arrived - there's a pattern here! So this time we arrive at Broomfield Hospital near Chelmsford. When I get seen in A&E, I'm told that I'm suffering from atrial fibrillation and that I will need to be defibrillated -that' s the scary thing where they attack you with the two large electric pads and give you a big shock - you've all seen it on Casualty. The threat was enough for my heart to leap back into perfect rhythm, so I didn't need the electric shock.

I spent the next two days with drips in both elbows, unable to use either arm, one for Heparin and one with something to control the heart rhythm. The Heparin drip stayed in for a week, so I had to do everything with my left hand - the fingers of the left hand are the only part with any residual trace from the stroke. The bruise from falling over during the hockey match wasn't help by the Heparin obviously and by the time it had spread from my waist to my left ankle, they decided to take me off the Heparin and send me home.

I've been out for a couple of weeks now am back to work, umpiring a hockey match tonight and waiting for the bruise to disappear.

I'm told that it's more than likely that an attack of Atrial Fibrillation caused the stroke. Like I say I feel I've been comparatively lucky.

Thanks to Mike 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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