I had my stroke aged 43 years old. Prior to this I hadn’t ever been ill and had no pre-existing illnesses or conditions.

Life before my stroke was ‘normal’; I had a beautiful wife and two lovely children to keep me busy, was a Board Director for a successful recruitment company and for the 10 years prior to my stroke I was very fit, running a number of half marathons, two marathons and a few longer endurance races.

The month before my stroke was very busy.  We had been on holiday in Dubai (with me training for my upcoming endurance run), I had then had a weekend away with the boys at the IOW festival, we had a company weekend in Italy, and most significantly I then ran 70 miles in a 24hr event called ‘Endure24’.

The night of my stroke was regular Thursday evening.  I had a few late work calls to make, my wife and children had gone to a school show, and I then went into our garage to do a boxing/HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout.  After that I had some bits to do, and remember at some point seeing coloured lights at the side of my vision – but I felt fine, so just ignored it.

Later that evening the family arrived home and the kids drifted off upstairs.  We were chatting about the show when my wife went off to the kitchen, still chatting.  She came back realising that I was no longer answering.  She seemed to immediately realise what was happening, called the children and then an ambulance.  During this time I was aware of what was happening, but has lost the ability to move or speak.  In particular I had no movement down my right hand side, specifically my arm/hand.

It’s a very surreal experience having a stroke.  My experience was I was trapped in my body without the ability to communicate, not in any pain, but aware that things are serious.

The paramedics came quickly and I was rushed to Winchester hospital where they assessed me.  By this time things had stabilised and I had movement returning to my hand and arm – and I was also getting some speech back.  However, all of a sudden my arm went limp and my speech slurred again…frightening!  The doctors said I needed a thrombolysis drip.  They said it would save my life, but ironically also came with a high risk of causing a bleed on the brain and killing me!

What a decision to have to make, and not only that but it takes an hour for the drip to run.  That’s a VERY long wait.

However, it worked and once I was stable again I was taken to the stroke ward.  At 43 years of age arriving at the stroke ward is very weird. It was full of elderly patients, and I must have been the youngest by at least 20 years!  I’d like to say at this point how magnificent the staff were at Winchester Hospital. I honestly believe I wouldn’t be here without them.  I had a nurse sat by my bed all night (24/7 care), which was lucky as during the night my right arm and speech, which had both started returning, went again and I was rushed off for another scan.  I honestly can’t remember what further treatment I received that night, but by the morning my speech had stabilised, and my arm was working, although I had no movement through my wrist, hand or fingers – it was just limp.

The following morning the diagnosis from the consultants was that I had dissected my carotid artery, and the subsequent bleed had caused the stroke.  I was prescribed blood thinners, aspirin and a high dose of statins to help with the repair.

I spent the next few days on the stroke ward, mainly sleeping, lying quietly and coming to terms with what happened.  I then had some physio on my hand/arm and was discharged on the Sunday.

I was keen to get home but once I got there felt very exposed.  The air of invincibility I had before the stroke had gone.  I was completely exhausted, and because there were no warning signs I was suffering anxiety that it might happen again.  In fact, on the second or third night at home we had to call the ambulance service because I was hyperventilating through worry about having another stroke.  They were great and calmed me down.

The next few days were a case of resting and seeing a few close family members, but I got exhausted really quickly and found it a struggle to control any emotions, which is a very odd side effect.

A few days later my parents had come to visit and whilst going to the bathroom I noticed my pupils were different sizes.  I was worried so I called my wife.  She was worried too and, so we called 999, and they were unsure so I ended up back on the stroke ward for the night!  Ultimately everything was fine, and I was discharged the next morning.

The following week I had daily visits from the Occupational Therapy team, who were all amazing.  They helped me understand the stroke, recovery and all the side effects.  This included exercises to get my facial muscles working again and exercises to try to get my hand working.  As part of that team, I also had a psychologist who visited, which was very informative.

My face muscles improved quite quickly, although three years later they still aren’t perfect and I have a lopsided smile which I’m very conscious of.

My hand was different; it wouldn’t budge.  I couldn’t move my fingers, or hand or wrist.

At this point I decided to see a private therapist and we found someone locally.  He came and did a session and we focused on the hand and fingers.  It was exhausting, but after a session or two and with all the effort I could muster I managed to move the tip of my finger, a tiny bit.  At this point I cried. Not only had it taken all my energy to move my finger a tiny amount, but it meant that I could get more movement back!

He then recommended some electrical stimulation treatment, which I got from Odstock medical in Salisbury.  This treatment involved attaching electrodes across my hands and then basically electrocuting myself to get the muscles working.

Following that, and with a mix of physio on the hand, I have regained a lot of movement in my hand.  It’s not perfect, and will probably never be ideal, but that’s a small price to pay.

The three months post stroke were spent at home recovering.  I was mainly sat on a chair in the garden, reading and sleeping.  The tiredness was ridiculous!  I would get up in the morning and have a shower, then lie down in my towel and regain my energy.  I’d then get dressed and go downstairs and when I got there sit down to rest.  Then we’d have breakfast and relax.  One thing I noticed was my desire for sugary food.  I’d never had a sweet tooth before but I was now devouring cakes, biscuits and anything with sugar!!

We saw people during this recovery but I struggled some days with the whole ’entertaining’ thing and on a couple of occasions had to go and lie down upstairs rather than speak to people.  It was tough for everyone, but recovery has its ups and downs.  You have good days and bad days and you need to make sure you look after yourself and take things at your own pace.  It does get better, but it takes time.

After three months at home I wanted to go back to work, so phased a return.  Looking back it was too early.  I probably needed to take another three months off, but hindsight is a valuable thing.

Since then life has started to return to normal.  You get back into the swing of things and slowly but surely life does go on.

During the following year I had a few follow up appointments, and a scan.  I was keen to drive again ASAP so focused on that, and I was also keen to get back to my running again.  The final scan I had showed I had a pseudoaneurysm on my dissection but apparently it is nothing to worry about, so I was discharged from the stroke, hopefully never to return.

After a year I started running again and have slowly built this back up.  It’s a big part of my life and I’m now back to running 20-25 miles a week, and plan to do my first half marathon post-stroke later this year!

My story is only part of the event caused by the stroke.  I’ve been extremely lucky to have lived and have amazing support from my wife, children, family and friends but without doubt it has affected them too, and in some ways it may be tougher for them to come to terms with it than it is for me.

I feel good, I’m taking my clopidogrel every day, working, running and being normal.  For my wife and children I imagine there has to be a fear of ‘what if it happens again’.  I don’t think that way.  The stroke has made me realise that life is too short.  Of course, there are things I won’t do (like go on roller coasters or lift heavy weights, etc.) however you need to take chances, live life to the full and make the most of every day.

Having a stroke at 43 is frightening, but there is always hope and there’s always tomorrow.  You just need to decide what you are going to do with it!!