“Before my stroke, I was very active, with a big social life and had just graduated from University.  My health had never been an issue before.

On the day of your stroke, I was at a music festival and it was in the evening.  I was having fun with my friends but then I started to feel a bit weird but didn’t take much notice of it.  I had a nap with my head on my friend’s lap and when we went to move onto the next stage, and my friends tried to get me up, but I was floppy and having trouble standing.  I very slightly remember my friends asking me to touch my toes, which I just about managed.  I was sick and that’s all I remember directly after.  My friends got the festival medics, who picked me up in a cart and took me to the welfare tent.  I think they took my blood pressure and did other tests before they put me to bed.

In the morning I woke up a bit disorientated and confused – with a terrible headache.  My friends came to collect me from the welfare tent and the medics allowed me to go in at the festival as usual.  I felt odd but had absolutely no suspicion of a stroke and just put it down to dehydration or sunstroke or something.  I started to notice my left arm and hand weren’t really working as I couldn’t put on a jacket and would drop things out of left hand.  My headache continued and it was the worst I’ve ever had.  I decided to stay in the tent on the Saturday night because I felt unwell.  I remember tossing and turning in the tent and feeling like I was going in and out of consciousness.  I couldn’t wait for my friends to get back.  The pain was like a shooting, stabbing, constricting pain and was getting worse.  I think this night is when I had my second stroke as I remember I kept waking up and feeling paralyzed and confused and the headache was unbearable.

I somehow carried on until the end of the festival, just thinking I had had sunstroke.  The headache never stopped, and my left side was very weak and not working properly.  Unfortunately, I had no idea these were signs of having a stroke.

When I got home, I decided to make a doctor’s appointment.  The doctor diagnosed it as temporary nerve damage but said to come in again if the symptoms persisted.  At my third doctor’s appointment, they suggested maybe I should go to A&E and this is the first time they suggested I could’ve had a stroke.  I was fast-tracked through A&E and had bloods taken and was then asked to come back for an MRI where it was confirmed I’d had two strokes.

I’d had an ischaemic stroke caused by a narrowing in my carotid artery which caused a blood clot in my brain.  I stayed in hospital for two weeks and had lots of MRI scans, CT scans, an ultrasound of my heart, an echo-cardiogram, wore a heart monitor for the day, X-ray of my chest, blood and urine samples, lumbar puncture procedure and was then put on medication for life (Clopidigrel and Atorvastatin).

After the two weeks, there were a few follow-up consultations and MRI scans and around nine months of physio and occupational therapy before I was officially discharged as an outpatient (a year after the strokes).

I found returning home harder than I thought; I felt more anxious and less safe.  It was hard to find the motivation to get dressed let along do anything.  For several months I stayed with my parents, didn’t leave the house much and rarely saw anyone.  Being a young stroke survivor can be very isolating.  The thought of doing things I used to love filled me with anxiety.  Being on my own set my mind racing, let alone going out for a drink with friends.  At 23 and having just graduated I did not expect to be needing help to use a knife and fork, wash myself and get dressed.  It’s a really scary thing losing so much independence so suddenly.  An aspect I particularly struggled with was having to rely on others.  I remember during an occupational therapy session bursting into tears after being asked: “Do you fear you are a burden to family and friends?”. Luckily I have an amazingly supportive family who cared for and supported me unconditionally and never pressured me to do anything but exactly what I felt like doing.  Surround yourself with people like this, if you are ever unfortunate enough to go through something like this.”

My mum said:

“It was very very shocking and worrying at first, not knowing then that you would make such a good recovery.  It still upsets me occasionally, when I remember it too well.  We delayed moving away from Brighton for a few months so we could keep a closer eye on your progress.  To start with, when you left hospital, you stayed with us and watched 217 episodes of X-Files, and it was good to feel some sense that you were resting and occupying your brain while it was gently recovering. We needed to be close to you.  It was such a wonderful relief when you got better and better, with reassuring words from physiologists and doctors. I now have a sense of joy that you coped so brilliantly with teacher training, and have a job already, and am so looking forward to your post-graduation in a few weeks.”

My best friend said  

“I would just say that I felt a tremendous amount of guilt and was incredibly worried about you.  You were really stoical during your whole recovery and sometimes I wished you would let me help support you more.  I can remember you getting really tired and needed to go to sleep early.  The stroke had really impacted on your confidence for social situations so sometimes I would see you less or we would opt for quieter nights in.  Overall, I think astonishingly you haven’t let it have a big impact on me because you’re an absolute trooper!”

Straight after my strokes I was really struggling to think about anything else and had constant worries and flashbacks replaying in my head, now I think about it a lot less and have definitely come to terms with it. I am currently working as a Reception Teacher and life is pretty much back to normal.

I don’t talk about it much so it can still bring up emotions when I do, I feel a little more paranoid about my health, my hand is still weaker than it was before and I have more bouts of anxiety compared to before the strokes, but my confidence is growing and I’m looking forward to the future!

Beth’s been a great supporter of Different Strokes and you can see a video that was recorded just after she’d taken part in one of our recent abseils here.  If you’d like to take part in this wonderful event for 2020 then you can find more information about it on our website here.

Beth is also involved in our Befriending Service and you can find out more about this new service on our ‘Teen & Young Adult Survivors” page HERE.

She said

“I wanted to get involved in the befriender service because it’s something I wish had been about when I was ill. As amazingly supportive your friends and family can be, they never really fully understand what you’re going through, so it would’ve been great to speak to someone who has been there and gets it.”