Dee Caldwell

Dionne Caldwell I was 17, and having the time of my life! I had moved out of my parents home six months earlier to live with friends. My life was one big party. Until Friday 1st November 1996.

The week before this, I had a pain in my neck and put it down to the way I had slept. Later that day, I was sick, and felt off colour. I went out on the Friday and Saturday nights as normal, not thinking any more about it.

Halloween arrived, and I had a numb arm, couldnt write properly at work. That afternoon, my boss sent me home after I fell. As I didnt feel quite right, I stayed in that evening, and unusually, I was alone in the house. As I went to sit on the sofa, I kept on missing, and ending up on the floor. A friend came over, and asked if I had been drinking, as my speech was slurred. I told him I was tired.

The next morning, I got up for work, and fell again in the kitchen. At this point I decided not to go to work. As we didnt have a phone in the house (the days before mobiles!), I got dressed and started the 100m walk to the telephone box. On the way my arm went again. I got to the phone box, and called work in tears, telling them I couldnt move my arm. My next call was to my G.P. I told the receptionist my problem, and asked if my G.P could come out to me. She told me this was not possible as a locum replaced my G.P for the day.

I got to the surgery by taxi, and went in to see the locum. He did a few tests, and told me that I had suffered a stroke. He advised me to go to hospital that he would send me with a letter, and ring to tell them I was on my way. When I asked how I was to get there, he told me that the buses go frequently!!! I got to the reception (at this point my leg had also gone) and demanded a taxi. The receptionist, in a panic, did what I asked and called a taxi. My speech had gone again. When it arrived, for some reason I was trying to say accident and emergency, rather than casualty.typical.I never make things easy for myself!!!

I got there, and wanted my Mum, but knew that she would be travelling to work. The casualty staff asked me if I suffered from Migraines (no), or had taken any drugs (no). They hooked me up to an ECG, and called my Mum. The next thing I remember is the cubicle curtain opening, and Mum coming in. It was this point that it hit me that what was happening to me was not normal. When I eventually got onto a ward a Doctor came to see me. He tested the limbs on my right side, and my speech. He told my parents that I still had some movement and speech, and if I stayed like this over the weekend, I would fully recover, but if when he returned on Monday I had lo t all movement etcthere was no hope. Of course I got worse. When he came back on Monday and repeated the tests, he concluded that basically, what I was like then was how I was going to be for the rest of my life. My parents told him that he was wrong, that I could be stubborn when I wanted to be, that I would prove him wrong.

After 7 weeks in hospital, I came out the week before Christmas in a wheelchair, with little speech and even less movement. I was in the wheelchair for about a year, on crutches for nearly 5 years. My speech and my arm are back in fully working order. My right foot has been operated on numerous times, and am now waiting more surgery on it. But I am here, walking, talking, and proving the experts wrong! I am now married, living at the other end of the Country to my family and friends, and working. My first day back to work was 5 years to the day since the stroke!

It just goes to show that the experts aren't always!

Thanks to Dee 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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