Gen's Story - Massive Double Haemhorragic Stroke aged just 29

Cast your mind back to September 2020. The pandemic was in full swing. We all worked from home and were not allowed to leave our houses much. Early that month, there was a brief lifting of the lockdown restrictions. I only know this because just days before I had a stroke, I was in Croatia for the week. I’m highlighting this because I think it’s important to know that just before I suffered a traumatic brain aneurysm (also known as a bleed on the brain or a stroke).

I was having the time of my life with the people I love most in the world. I was 29 years old, living a relatively healthy vegan lifestyle in East London; I was very relaxed and had no family history of high blood pressure or stroke. The 15^th of September 2020, was a Tuesday. I was working from home, and at about 4:30pm that afternoon, I was on an virtual conferencing call with my colleague (and friend) Pauline. I started to get a headache during the call, but it wasn’t particularly severe. This headache’s only vaguely worrying feature was that I couldn’t ignore it, or focus fully on the call.

After about thirty minutes of talking to Pauline, I looked away from the screen and into a mirror. I noticed then that the left side of my face was dropping a bit. At that moment, I was convinced I had Bell’s palsy, and I remember thinking—this is the worst thing in the world! Little did I know that it certainly would not have been.

I don’t think I mentioned my fears to Pauline at the time, and speaking to her since, I’m pretty sure she didn’t pick up on the facial weakness, but after a minute or two of the pain not shifting, I thought the best thing to do would be to end the call and source a painkiller, so that is what I did.

At this point, I was fortunate enough to live with my family. I left my desk and noticed my left arm felt heavy and weak. I went to my living room where my family were to ask them for paracetamol. At this point, the thought of a stroke had not entered my mind. I had not come across anyone who had ever had a stroke. I don’t think I even really knew what a stroke was. I probably thought it was something that only happened to the elderly. This is very far from the truth. In fact, I understand an estimated 10%–15% of all first-ever strokes occur in people aged 18–50 years old. It’s even possible to have a stroke in utero.

None of my family worked in medicine, and none had encountered anyone who had had a stroke before, but a mother’s instinct cannot be denied, so my mum called 111 to see what was going on with me. 111 was called, and I explained my symptoms to the call receiver. I recall the receiver asking me to hold both arms out in front of me and hold them there; I could only just do this. I think my inability to hold my arms in this position for long prompted them to dispatch an ambulance. During the wait for an ambulance, I felt dizzy and vomited without warning.

I can’t remember what happened when the paramedics arrived, but they put me into the ambulance quickly. The walk onto the vehicle was rough; it wasn’t long, but walking was difficult at this point. Once I was on the stretcher, they put the siren on and rushed me to the Royal London Hospital (RLH), which I’m very lucky to live near because, according to their website, RLH boasts one of the leading centres in the country for stroke.

Once in the hospital, I suffered further health complications and very almost died. Recovery from a stroke can be lifelong, and almost four years on, I’m still having weekly physiotherapy because I had to learn to walk again, and relearning that took time. My sensation, balance and ability to swallow were also affected. Additionally, I now live with epilepsy and other health conditions that I manage with a fantastic support network made up of family, friends, colleagues and the incredible NHS.

I also have a fantastic therapist who is a stroke survivor herself. She spoke to me about the charity Different Strokes, and I started following them on Instagram. The rest is history. You can hear more about my recovery journey on a podcast I did here, or follow me on Instagram because I post about it a lot! If I can leave you with one thing, please do learn the stroke warning signs below and check your blood pressure as soon as you can at your local pharmacy—your health is your wealth; something I learned the hard way!

I wish I had someone like me around me earlier in my recovery because I had no hope things would improve, and hope is such a powerful thing. If I could give that to anyone in a similar position, I’d be chuffed. Different Strokes is a stroke charity run by younger stroke survivors for younger stroke survivors so contact them to be part of their community, like I did! Here are some pictures of me before, during when I wasn’t well and after some recovery from my double stroke.

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There are 100,000 strokes in the UK each year with 1 in 4 happening to somebody of working age or younger. Different Strokes aims to promote independent stroke recovery and help these younger stroke survivors reclaim their lives.

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