It was Saturday 6 August 2016, at around 7 o’clock I woke up feeling my little one’s nappy, which wet.  As she was sleeping, I thought I could have ten more minutes of sleep- myself.  Once I got up, I picked her up and started to change her nappy, but I noticed she was looking at me weirdly.  It was only when I was putting cream on her that I realised I was spreading it on my own arm and could not change the direction.

My instinct kicked in and I managed to change her and put her in her cot bed.  I went to wake up my partner and he couldn’t understand what I was saying.  In frustration I went into the bathroom and lost my balance.  He tried hard to get me to make sense but couldn’t!

At this point he got that something was wrong, and he called the ambulance.  The paramedic got in and was asking me questions.  My words made no sense, so I stopped talking.  I could only point.

I was driven to the A&E in Milton Keynes Hospital and after a lot of tests were done, they transferred me to Luton & Dunstable Hospital to be thrombolised.

In the ambulance, I managed to point to my phone my partner’s number on my phone so the paramedic could update him and let him know I was going to another hospital.  The next thing I remember I was in the ward and I had a massive headache and was feeling very disorientated.

The doctor confirmed I had a stroke which affected the left parietal lobe and the ganglia.  I was in the hospital for three days and returned home after this time.  They found after a few weeks a PFO (Patent Forame Ovale) in my heart and I was added to the waiting list for the closure in 2016.

My first worry was my job (silly me), a difficult financial situation and a little one to look after, so this was the only thing I could not give up.  I did not realise what was happening to me.  I had started a new job during July 2016, an office job, and my dream since I came to the UK eleven years before.  I had my stroke the following month

I was so worried I might lose the job that I returned after just two weeks.  The struggle was real, so the doctor advised me to request a phased return to work, which I did.  Luckily my new company understood the issue and they have been amazing.

My dad flew from Italy on the same day to help as my daughter was one year old at the time.

I haven’t got t a lot of memories of the weeks after my stroke as I was sleeping most of the time and having strolls around with the little one.  I only clearly remember I hugged my dad, crying, thinking that I could have died and the guilt I had as I had so many things to do and I wasn’t able to.

Due to our financial situation, my partner had to work all day and he was away most of the time.  I think this helped me in one way as I did not have the time to feel sorry for myself.  However, I never really realised what happened to me and did not stop to think about what I needed, putting my daughter first all the time and what everyone else needed, but me.

I did not take the time to think about what happened to me and did not give me enough time to know my new me, thinking I was still the same.  My partner and my family do not really like to talk about it as I do look OK, and I try to only look forward and not back.  It’s the way I have been all my life, so I was used to accepting things.

I was lucky I have been left without visible invalidity, but the fatigue and the aphasia are always a there.  It was only now after my PFO closure that I had the chance to really rest, and had the time to think about what I needed, when I finally found Different Strokes.

I think it is a great charity and they all do a great job in supporting survivors and anyone affected by stroke.  I have finally realised I need to take it easy and give myself the extra time I might need to achieve any goals, or to ask for support and advice from others who have been through similar and found a way of dealing with things.