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My Thoughts

Thinking about it now nearly 22 years on, I was so lucky because remember I was driving to a paint wholesalers and had this SAH Stroke happened just a few minutes earlier I would have been doing 60 mph down a dual-carriageway and well that does not bear thinking about.

I am one hell of a lucky guy and yes I will never forget that, not only did I miss a head-on collision I also got through that operation and despite having severe Spasticity recovered well all things considered.

I also had no children at the time and only been married since 9th May 1987 so was concerned if my wife could cope or indeed if she wanted to stay with me I did say to her in Hospital while I was recovering post operation that she could leave if she wanted as I did not want to burden her specially as she was so young and beautiful.

You can I expect imagine the reply lol yes it was don't be a silly fool, I was lucky in that I had time on my side being only 27 years old at the time so despite the many issues I faced in my recovery I made very good progress in the first 6 months and that I am grateful for as it did take quiet a burden from my wife.

I say this because post stroke care was not the animal it is today and apart from one re-visit to Hospital at 6months post Stroke and the physiotherapy I had while in hospital that was it and I very much had to find my own way and that I can tell you was no easy task.

The Operation

I am a 48 yr old adopted male that has now been married for 25 years come the 9th May 2012 I have two sons one is 20 and is doing a Microsoft IT Apprenticeship and the other is nearly 18 years old studying music at college and plays in his own band called Caged Spectrum.

I was working on Saturday 7th April as my boss asked if I could do extra hours to paint the car workshop so there I was busy painting away as it was a large workshop and we ran out of paint so I went to my boss and got some petty cash and jumped in the truck and headed to the paint shop to get concrete floor paint.

I parked up went into the store got the paint and went to the desk to pay only I had a thunderclap headache like nothing I have had before right across the leftside of my skull with that I then passed out and vomited. Thinking back now I wonder how lucky I am as the great man above must of been watching over me because had this happened 5 mins earlier I would have been driving down the dual carriageway at 60mph and certainly would not be here now to write this.

So I come around at the hospital and because I had epileptic fits as a child they put it down to this and sent me home the following day to bed rest , but that night at home in bed I took another turn for the worse and felt very giddy and not with it at all so my wonderful wife called the out of hours GP who came out and called an ambulance.

Back in hospital this time they gave me a lumber puncture to test for meningitis but that came back as negative so they sent me over for an MRI scan this time it was bingo and a burst aneurysm was found on my middle cerebral artery.

Now at this point the hospital I was at did not do Neurological Operations so I was transferred from Portsmouth to Southampton where the nearest centre was this was also remember April 1990 and no coiling was available here in the UK as it did not come here from America until early 1992 so I only had one option that was to open my skull and do a craniotomy to clip the bleed.

Although I put on a brave face deep inside I was bricking it and thinking all manor of things like will I survive, will I lead a normal life, will my wife still want me, will I be able to still have children, man all many of things was rushing through my head.

Anyway I went down for the operation and all I can remember is being wheeled down and a beautiful nurse talking to me for reassurance then putting me under.

I woke up 8 weeks later in ICU as I had been in induced coma to rest my head and to reduce the swelling to find my wife beside me that I can tell you now was a wonderful feeling.

I was in ICU for 3 weeks then transferred to a regular ward for a further 3 weeks before being ambulanced back to the Portsmouth Hospital where I started this journey however the driver tried to help me out of the back of the ambulance but no I wanted to get out my self what a fool I was as I went flat over on my face due to losing my balance lol.

 

Synopsis

This blog will be a warts and all account of my daily life and how I learn to   cope with everyday issues that an able bodied person takes for granted. It will go into detail of how my SAH Stroke happened the events that lead to it, the care I received in hospital as well as the ongoing care post stroke.

It will tell you the barriers I faced in work and with the Government and the benefits I receive and how they are perceived by the public.

It will also tell you about the good times I have with my Family and Society in general

It is indeed the most true and detailed account you will find on the internet and thus a must read as it will not only surprise you but no doubt shock you also.

Please bear in mind when reading this blog although I use spell checker there maybe some grammar errors, I make no apology for that as it is a result of the SAH Stroke I had, however I will try my best to correct any errors.