I heard so much, but could not communicate – this was the scariest part.  I have been informed that I had a seizure whilst I was on the floor unconscious.  I had no feeling in or use of my right side.  After a period of time my speech started to return, but I was not fully coherent.

The ambulance crew arrived and at this point my vision had started to return – and the vertigo kicked in.

All medical observations seemed clear (blood pressure, sugar levels and heart) and they were saying it was a mystery.  I updated them that I had an awful headache in my forehead/eye, an earache, vertigo and suffered neck pain/stiffness around 2 days prior to this, and which no pain killers were touching.  The ambulance took me to A&E where I was given IV fluid and some anti-sickness medication and put onto a wheelchair.  All I wanted to do was sleep, my vision was still very blurry whilst still having visual aura and I was still vomiting, although this was subsiding now as the medicines worked their magic.

I was finally called in to be seen by a doctor (around four hours later) only had my blood pressure taken (ECG and bloods already done when I arrived) and was then wheeled to the A&E waiting room.  Sometime later, I was informed I was clear to leave because all my ‘obs’ were fine.  I replied, “did I have a stroke?” to which the doctor looked at me and laughed and said “God no, we believe it was a migraine”.  I quickly said “Well that was like no migraine I have ever suffered”.   With that comment he just smiled and said, “No it was not a stroke” and turned around and walked away.  That was it I was free to leave and left with the feeling ‘geez I really am a drama queen!’

The days preceding were dreadful.  I just wanted to sleep and two days after leaving A&E I lost feeling all down my right side again, but I told myself this was all part of my new migraines and to ‘suck it up’.  My cognitive functions were non-existent.  I could not understand why every time I drank or ate something I kept having a coughing fit or feeling like I was choking.  The fatigue was on another level, and my balance/dizziness/vertigo were shocking and my hands were weaker and kept dropping things.

I knew I needed help and felt so desperate.  In February 2022 I sourced a consultant who specialised in post-concussion in London.  I thank God for this chain of events; one of the referrals he made was to a migraine specialist (these were now chronic –  with more than 15 a month) and on my first consultation with the migraine specialist in March 2022, he suggested another MRI (I had numerous MRIs over the last 14 months which all came back clear).

On my follow up, he said the MRI has revealed I’d had a stroke or even multiple strokes.  At this point I went into shock and could not take any information in – it was over a video conferencing service.  After the shock wore off, there was something reassuring about being told this news; I had an answer to all these problems.  There was something inside of me that knew since the mTBI that I was not well and things were not as they should be – and that time was not being a healer for me!

From that point forward various tests ensued, official diagnosis in July 2022 I received was a right vertebral artery dissection with a cerebellum stroke – dissection was in the area where I had my head trauma.

It really upsets me to read stories of misdiagnoses, and our symptoms ignored especially in younger patients.  I had two failings by my local University Hospital.  Firstly, when I had my accident in 2020. I was admitted for head trauma and sent for CT with contrast scan, for some reason they stopped the contrast dye at the start of my vertebral artery.  My stroke consultant said that what a shame, as that could have held all the answers.  Secondly, to be taken to A&E with every FAST symptom (I firmly promote the BEFAST instead, as balance and eyes were part of my stroke as well) and be brushed off with it being a migraine.  I was angry and disappointed with their investigative approach.  I am trying to channel these feelings into something positive and have since written to my local hospital and requested a meeting to educate them.  Could my outcome have been vastly different had a different approach been taken?  We will never know.