I'm 4 months post-stroke I was 38. I had a brain stem infarction which is a lack of oxygen to the brain stem. I was at work and I felt high. My sentences made no sense. I was stumbling around, almost passing out. I asked my boss to call an ambulance but he refused. He told me to go home despite almost passing out twice. I couldn't make sense of anything so I went to my doctor who sent me to the hospital for tests. I felt fatigued and had swelling at the back of my head with severe pain, and my body felt numb. I started passing out. The doctor at the hospital wanted me to go to palliative care, but I refused. I told the doctor that I wanted to get back to work. Despite being told that I was in a serious condition, I lost my job.
A little while after I had my second stroke. My friend came over, I told him that I felt really weird and my right side felt strange, My walking was affected. I tried getting an emergency appointment with my doctor but I was told to come back later on. I thought I'd have asleep and get the bus to the hospital in the morning. I started feeling confused, it was the same feeling that I had with my first stroke. I couldn’t understand what was going on around me and I was unable to walk properly I called an ambulance.
As a young person, I suffered a head injury ( not serious) which changed my conduct in a negative way which lead to drug use, etc which all contributed to me having two strokes by the age of 42 and some terrible bad luck.
Post-stroke life is so different. It's like having to learn how to think again. With the support of friends and my daughter, life is still worth living. I'm happy. But having Strokes is the hardest thing I’ve had to do!
