Paul Harrison
My stroke story begins in July 2001 when I had a kidney transplant from my mother.
I was 32 years old and, apart from the problems with my kidney, felt reasonably healthy. The transplant went very well and we were both allowed home after 10 days which is the minimum time for a transplant. Everything seemed to be going well apart from an increase in weight, which is normal, as I was taking steroids to help prevent rejection.
However in February 2002 I suffered a right-sided stroke, which left me with left-sided weakness in my arm and face. This happened as I was walking down the stairs carrying my 3-month-old son, Oliver. I suddenly felt dizzy and confused as to where I was. I went into the lounge and literally dropped my son onto the sofa. I then felt my left arm moving up and down without myself having any control over the movements. This lasted for about 20 seconds.
I was taken to the Churchill Transplant centre in Oxford as the Royal Berkshire hospital was full due to the "Friday night casualties". I was then transferred to the Oxford Radcliffe Infirmary where they have a specialist stroke recovery ward. After a MRI scan it was confirmed that I had suffered a stroke. I stayed in hospital for 10 days during which I had some physical rehabilitation.
The reasons for my stroke were never established. It is a possibility that some of the tablets I was taking for my kidney transplant caused toxicity in my blood which led to a stroke.
During the following 2 months I had a viral infection and a serious chest infection which all took a toll on my family and me. After 4 months I returned to work on a part time basis. My employer was very supportive and let me return to work at my own pace.
During September 2002 I went on holiday to Centre Parcs in Longleat. In the middle of this holiday I had a serious epileptic fit. I was rushed in Bath hospital where I eventually blacked out. The A & E department where I was taken was very poor in recognising the systems of epilepsy. As a result of this I nearly swallowed my tongue. As you can imagine this was very stressful for my wife who had to shout out for help as there was nobody looking after me.
Since then I have had continued epileptic seizures, which, although not as severe as the first one, are still distressing, and are causing me to be unable to drive.
At this present time I have regained most of my arm movements and have about 95% strength in my left leg. The dexterity in my left hand is still very poor but as I am right handed I am managing to cope quite well. I have been told by the doctors to try and use my left hand as much as possible in order to regain some further use.
On the plus side my wife has had another baby, a beautiful girl who we have called Kate.
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