Rob’s Story – Ischaemic Stroke at 52
- Greg Hollingworth
It was towards the end of June 2025 when things changed for me. I was working from home at the kitchen table and bent down to do something with the dog. Do you know that feeling when you get up too quickly and get a bit dizzy? It was like that, only it didn’t stop; it got worse and was scary. Shortly afterwards I felt very hot and sweaty, went very pale, started to vomit and developed an immediate headache.
Luckily, my eldest daughter was at home and called 999. Unluckily, she doesn’t handle stressful medical situations that well and ended up getting faint and lying against the fridge. What a cheek! This was my emergency not hers. Joking aside, she was great and summoned both my wife and our good friends next door whilst we waited for help.
The medics did an ECG, checked all my vital signs and told me they thought I’d had a ‘vasovagal episode’. In other words, I’d almost fainted. In fact, they said it would have been better if I had fainted as I’d likely not have felt so bad.
Their one concern was that my temperature wasn’t increasing as expected, so recommended my wife took me to A&E. I’d never fainted or come close to fainting before so thought this was a little odd, but off we went.
I was very wobbly heading into the hospital and had to be supported by my wife and daughter, something else I found odd. ECGs, blood tests and various examinations later, the doctor concurred with the medics and told me I could leave. Everyone was lovely there and I don’t want to be too critical, but I can’t help thinking there was a bit of confirmation bias going on. In other words, they looked to support the vasovagal diagnosis without scanning my head to see if there was an underlying cause of what had happened. It turns out there was.
The headaches and various other symptoms (neckache, sensitivity to light and sound, fatigue) continued for weeks so I spoke to a doctor and ended up getting an MRI scan of the head. Despite being an optimist, I am also a mild hypochondriac. But ironically, on this occasion, I’d convinced myself that the neurologist would call me and tell me that I was experiencing anxiety headaches and everything was normal – but he said I’d had a stroke. A stroke?! I’m a fit, healthy 52-year-old man. I wasn’t expecting that.
Those early days after diagnosis were awful. I appreciate things could have been a lot worse for me compared to others but I’m sure everyone feels the same. You’re worried about going to sleep, you are anxious, you just want more information and get answers that can’t come quick enough. On this occasion, ending up in hospital was the best thing that happened to me.
I had been experiencing lightheaded episodes and, given the stroke diagnosis, I wasn’t taking any chances and ended up back in A&E. This time, I found myself being admitted to the stroke ward. The staff here were fantastic and the knowledgeable specialists were just what I needed. They explained that I’d had a vertebral artery dissection which had resulted in a couple of cerebellar mature infarcts. Yep, gibberish to me as well at the time. In simple terms, there had been a small tear in the artery which had slowed or stopped blood flow past it and therefore causing a stroke.
As there had been no discernible catalyst for this, like a traumatic event or even an aggressive sneeze, they started a barrage of tests and scans. The good news was that, apart from the original stroke, I hadn’t had any more and there was no bleed on the brain. This meant I could be started on the required medication. The bad news was, they had found another dissection in the carotid artery. This one luckily hadn’t caused a stroke. Eventually, through the images, they diagnosed a condition called fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD).
FMD is a rare vascular condition where some arteries develop abnormal cell growth in their walls, causing them to narrow, bulge or twist. This can reduce or disrupt blood flow, most often affecting the arteries of the kidneys and neck, and may lead to high blood pressure, aneurysms or stroke. I was told 90% of people who have this are female! Well, I do have four sisters and two daughters. I’m waiting to see a specialist about this (there’s one busy lady in the UK!) as it’s not very well known.
The team in the hospital were superb, and I felt very listened to and cared for. When I came to leave, I experienced Stockholm syndrome as had become very reliant on my ‘captors,’ constantly checking on me and making sure all my vital signs were good. Being back at home was lovely but I became very anxious and started having little panic attacks. This was a new feeling for me, so it took a while to recognise and learn how to deal with it. These have abated now, and I’m just left with the physical symptoms I mentioned earlier. I’m not sure how long these will last.
So that’s where I am. A friend of mine who has gone through a traumatic medical experience gave me some great advice which I’ll pass on. In the short term, focus on recovery and not rehabilitation. As someone who had an active, busy (and sometimes stressful) life, it has taken a while to learn just to ‘exist’ for a while. It doesn’t take much to tire me out. I just must listen to my body and not push it too hard too soon. Different Strokes has enabled me to share my story and ask the questions I need to from those who have been through this. Don’t be afraid to talk to someone – it’ll always help.
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