A letter for Hannah

By Joel

For my sister Hannah.

I am a triplet, I have an older and a younger sister, by about a minute on each side. I have always seen it as a privilege to be one of three, but I never in my wildest dreams thought that one day my younger sister would save my life.

It was July 2022. I was a young man of 31 years of age. Fit, healthy, and busy building my own business. I was excited about my future.

I was at the gym and was trying to lift weights above my head but noticed my arms wouldn’t go past my shoulders, particularly my left arm, I could no longer lift or move it in a natural way. A trainer noticed I wasn’t lifting as heavy as I normally would, I told him I was taking it easy as I thought I had a pinched nerve in the back of my neck , and I went home.

I went to my Myotherapist for a treatment, but it only made my arm worse. So, I went to my GP. He didn’t do much of a check other than to say it was a pinched nerve and to rest for a few days. It hadn’t improved. It was beginning to dawn on me that it was something else, but I didn’t think stroke – I didn’t know stroke can happen to young people.

My left leg started to go on me and I couldn’t walk properly so my next stop was to go and see my Osteopath for a 3rd opinion as I felt like a living zombie at this point. It is a decision that I will always regret, and I hope my story is a warning to others.

By the time of my appointment at the osteo I had progressively gotten worse. The last thing I remember from the appointment was the Osteopath saying. “You don't look well; with the red flags you’ve presented I probably shouldn't do this” before he cracked my neck in both directions a full 180 degree rubber neck

When my neck was cracked to the left I saw a huge white flash followed by stars. It was at that moment my life entered a new paradigm.

My coordination went and I had this feeling of absolute dread. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as I could and lay down. Somehow, I drove to my sister’s house.

I walked through the front door and headed for the couch to lie down. Hannah, a nurse, was very calm and asked me to get into the car immediately. I remember her saying, “Joel, you can’t go to sleep, you may not wake up. You are having a stroke, and I need to get you to the hospital.”

By this time, I was showing all the common signs of stroke. I couldn't lift my arm, my face had drooped, and my speech was slurred. I was also having some kind of out of body experience and the pain in my arm was terrible.

Box Hill Hosptial is only 15 minutes from Hannah’s house. She drove me straight there, as it would be faster than calling triple 000.

At the hospital, we were told that I had had a stroke, but because it had been three days, they would observe me, but I was outside the window to treat. Luckily my bleed stopped by itself.

The stroke left me with initial paralysis on my left side, fatigue and aphasia. After 14 months, this has mostly improved enough that you can’t notice.

The cognitive fatigue on the other hand is still my nemesis.

I tracked my sleep over the first year, and I slept for a total of 5,110 hours (about 7 months). I had to give up my business and my social life was pretty much non-existent.

Now, I get up early, spend a few hours out of bed, then I go back to sleep from 10 am to 11 am, then another sleep from 3pm to 4pm which is usually enough to get me through to 8pm bed time.

Eventually, I would like to be able to make a whole day without a sleep reset, but I don’t know how long it will take. In the meantime, I am doing light cardio to try to build up my strength and I work on my mindset.

I have PTSD, flashbacks and depression which is raw and deep. My spiritual practices help me to manage my emotions. I do yoga and meditation which helps.

It’s still beyond frustrating that I saw a GP, Myotherapist and Osteopath, none of which recognised the signs of stroke.

It was my sister, Hannah, who with her knowledge and quick thinking who saved my life. I will be forever grateful for how she handled the situation with calm, care and a sister's love.

My mission is now to advocate better training of the signs of stroke for medical professionals, and all types of health practitioners. And also help to raise funds for extended rehab programs to be given to stroke survivors for better treatment so they get an opportunity for best possible recovery.

We are all in each other's hands when it comes to stroke, everyone should know the signs.