All strokes are different
By Debra
I had my stroke in October this year.
I had been suffering with balance issues and vomiting for five days, plus a very bad headache, so I took myself off to the Eye and Ear Hospital (E&E). I thought I had vertigo, which I'd suffered from in the past.
Even though I felt this time was different, I couldn’t put my finger on it. I had a severe headache, which would not go away whatever medication I took, but otherwise the symptoms were like what I had suffered in the past.
At the E&E hospital they were very concerned about the headache, so the team decided to transfer me to another hospital for a CT scan and angiogram, which came back all clear.
I spent the night in Emergency and was given a bed at 5am. At 8am I tried to eat breakfast and noticed my left arm felt very strange, and my fingers were numb. I told the nurses, and they got the Neurologist to see me before lunch. They suspected I may have had a mild stroke.
The next day I had an MRI which confirmed that I'd had a mild ischemic stroke. It has been a very big shock and wake up call for me, especially as I have worked in the health system and know about stroke and the F.A.S.T. signs.
Luckily for me it was only mild, my coordination has improved, and being left-handed, advice is that my hand movement will heal faster, as I naturally use my affected hand.
My hobbies are playing guitar and collecting stamps, which are great therapy for me, and thank goodness, I'm still able to play.
I want to share my story, because although I knew the signs of stroke, I didn’t have the classic symptoms. I wonder how many people don’t get to hospital quickly because they don’t show the most common signs.
I feel that if we all share our stories; it will educate more people about all the signs, so that if they experience a ‘funny turn’ they call triple zero immediately.
I also want to thank the team from St Vincent's Hospital who were fantastic from the beginning to when I was discharged.
This is the view from my hospital room
