I’m Jade and I’m 25 years old.  I took a stroke when I was just 21 years old!  Before I took my stroke, I had become a mum to a little boy called Kai (he is my world).  I was also studying to become a vet too!  I did multiple courses, like hairdressing and administration to get my grades up and on my days where I had free time.  I loved personalising items, glitter alcohol bottles, making personalised photo frames, etc.

Anyway, let’s get back to telling you about my stroke!  So I got up on 7 January 2018 feeling absolutely fine; great in fact.  I took a drive over to a store and bought some goodies (…OK, cake), and brought a huge 16 inch pizza home for me, my mate and my little boy’s dad.  My friend’s little boy was in and so was my wee boy.  I got home went to reheat the pizza, got it out of the microwave and walked over to my friend, but all of a sudden I felt very dizzy and lightheaded and I dropped the pizza.  I picked it up, put it on the plate and gave it to my friend it and told her I need to sit down, but as soon as I sat down I was gone,  turning greyish in colour.  I just went unconscious…. my friend was worried and called in my little boy’s dad  and said she was worried about me.

So he came over and checked me over by asking me if I could hear him, if I could speak, but by this time I was drifting in and out of consciousness, and so he tried lifting my arms etc., but he noticed I had no ability to speak, no ability to move my right hand side at all; as I could squeeze his hand from my left hand but not my right – it just felt like a dead weight.  Straight away he recognised the symptoms of a stroke, thank God, due to the advert on the TV.  So my friend and he called my mum, and then 999.  As we waited my mum appeared, and I was still drifting in and out of consciousness and still unable to talk.

An ambulance arrived eventually, after they got lost, but thankfully found my address, so they ran upstairs and come and found me slouched on couch.  My friend and my mum told them exactly what had happened, and straight away they ruled out a stroke due to my age, so they check my blood pressure, which was absolutely fine, and another reason why they didn’t expect a stroke.  Mum insisted she wanted me checked over so they took me to the nearest hospital.  I was then diverted to Queen Elizabeth where there was standby doctor who deals with strokes waiting for me.  He was actually off duty but was called in.

They did tests and eventually told my mum I’d had a major stroke, and they were not sure if I would make it through the night!  They then told her that there is a clot buster that I could have but they were unsure how it would affect me, as I’m one of the youngest people ever to try it.  So my mum (being a mother) had to go and think whether to give this drug a go or not.  She gave them the go ahead so they administered the drug and said they would know in the next 24 hours if I would survive.

So 24 hours later another scan was given and it showed the drug had worked, but I was left completely paralysed down the right side.  I was gutted hearing that they couldn’t tell me if I could ever talk and walk again.  I might never be able to go on walks, hold, lift or push my little boy again and that broke my heart, so I was determined to do my physio as it’s important.  Now I can do these things. 

Fast forward few weeks later; I got moved to Stobhill Stroke Ward, and got physiotherapy every single day – and slowly I was making progress and by then my speech had come back.  I still struggle with words I haven’t heard in a while but I am getting there.

I hit depression while I was there.  I just thought “Why me? , Why did this happen to me?”.  Well I believe it was probably due to the contraception pill and having a hole in my heart that I never knew about.

Anyway I couldn’t stay in my own home, because I live two floors up, so eventually got out of hospital seven weeks later and moved in with my mum.

I never heard of websites and charities that help people who’d been through what I had until years later, so I really struggled until now.

But honestly, I never gave up.  Three years later my arm movement has started coming back – and my hand.  I will never be able to walk properly, but I’m alive.  I also passed my driving test with the help of a steering aid and driving an automatic car.

Life does get better – I promise!  The reason I’m alive today is because I had my son, family and friends – they pushed me to get better.