Given the political/general unrest and the crime in South Africa that resulted from apartheid, we emigrated to the “Lucky Country” – Australia, in 1997.  This is the best move I ever made.

We moved again to the UK in 2002 as my (ex) in-laws could not get permission to stay in Australia.  I worked in the investment banking industry in London.  Unfortunately, I’d had a brain bleed in 2011, the night before a planned drive to Melbourne for my younger brother’s wedding.  I jumped in the shower as this was the worst headache in my life.  The next day I saw a GP who said it was probably meningitis or food poisoning and recommended going to hospital.  I had an MRI and was advised it was a brain bleed from a burst aneurysm and taken to hospital for coiling, where they insert a fine metal thread into the aneurysm via your groin and I was discharged after two weeks with no deficits – I returned to work and my life.  I used to work as an Audit Team Leader for the Head Office of a large retail group in Bella Vista, Sydney.

I had an angiogram after six months with news the aneurysm had regrown to a giant basilar tip aneurysm (10.2cm).  I was advised it would have to be clipped during brain surgery, but there were no surgeons prepared to perform the operation as the aneurysm was on my basilar artery and considered too risky.  This was an incredibly scary time.  After a long time searching I eventually found a surgeon willing to operate and he advised I still had the option of recoiling it, but it may regrow, and the clipping operation would then not be possible then given the amount of metal in my brain.  I was told if no decision was made, then I would die.

My ex-wife and I decided I must opt for clipping surgery.  I had just been promoted at work to a state management role, so I told my new manager and booked surgery in September 2012.  The surgeon successfully clipped the aneurysm during the craniotomy.  However, my basilar artery burst (as was feared) and I had a haemorrhagic stroke and was put in a medically induced coma for two weeks.  I lost all use of my body on the left hand side.  I am paralysed and also do not have any peripheral vision on the left hand side or central vision in my right eye; only peripheral vision.  I am what the British would call “boss-eyed“ as the pupil now faces upwards rather than forwards, like a doll with the pupil facing the wrong way.  I am now legally blind and will never drive again.  I also do not have any depth perception making shaving difficult.  

It felt and still feels like I am in a strait jacket.  The doctors told my ex-wife and our children it was unlikely I would survive, but they don’t know me!  I was admitted to a hospital and spent the next ten months in rehab.  The medical team told us that I would probably remain incontinent, was unlikely to ever walk, talk or even swallow again.  They also advised us that my memory would be poor and that the best way to describe it is like a filing cabinet thrown in the air with the files (memories) still there but in disarray.  I can vaguely remember training for my new role but did not even perform one hour in that position.