I did not have the common signs of stroke

By Laura

November 2021 was just a normal day for me. My husband was away in Tamworth for work, and I was busy getting five children ready for the day. I dropped three off at school, then took my youngest two for a 7km walk. That evening, I turned on the TV and I thought to myself the picture quality was terrible, everything was blurry. I rubbed my eyes a few times, then funny shapes appeared right in front of me. It wasn’t the TV; it was my eyes. My sight became blurry and distorted, followed by the worst migraine I’ve ever had. I only get about one bad migraine a year, but this was something different. Soon after the migraine started came the vomiting, I was very unwell.

The next day, I woke up, grabbed my phone to message my husband who was due home that afternoon, to say I wasn’t feeling well. I couldn’t see the keys on my phone to send a text. I spent most of that day flat on my back between vomiting and reaching for more Panadol. Nothing was easing my symptoms.

That evening around 11pm my neck started to really hurt, a pain I had never felt before. I turned to my husband and said, “something isn’t right”.

Laura and her husband

I got through the night, woke up the next morning and my husband insisted he drive me to our local private hospital. I refused, thinking it was just a severe migraine - hospital is for people with serious or life-threatening conditions.

I called for a home doctor and the nurse asked me what my symptoms were. Once I explained what I was experiencing, she told me that the home doctor wouldn’t come out and that I would need to present to an emergency department.

The next call I made was to Healthcare Direct, once again I had to tell the nurse what was happening, she was so concerned and told me to go straight to hospital.

Within an hour, I presented at The Sydney Adventist Hospital. I was seen straight away and before I knew it, I was being sent down for an MRI. The nurse came back and very calmly said, the neurologist can see something and would like me to have a CT scan with contrast.

The CT scan confirmed that I had an artery dissection in my neck which led to a stroke.

Never once did it occur to me that I was having a stroke as I didn’t have all the classic symptoms. To say the least, I was in shock. How could a healthy, fit, mum of five children have a stroke? I’ve never even put a cigarette in my mouth, nor do I have high cholesterol or blood pressure.

I have seen many times posters or pictures with F.A.S.T. stroke symptoms and what to look out for. I would always take note as my parents are in their 70s. I wanted to be aware of what to look out for in case someone I care about or even a stranger was having a stroke.

I guess because my symptoms weren’t classic stroke symptoms, it never once occurred to me that I was having a stroke.

I want to tell my story in the hope that I can help people, even just one person. I would hate for anyone to go through what I went through.

Although, physically I am fine, it’s the anxiety that makes life difficult at times. I am now seven months post stroke, and the only side effects I have are tiredness, occasional dizziness, a feeling of emptiness in my head that comes and goes, and brain fog.

I am so fortunate to be okay, as I know so many others live with lifelong symptoms that impact their day-to-day life tremendously.