Hi everyone,
Looking for a bit of support from this forum so thought I’d share my mum’s story.
2 weeks ago my mum had a stroke although at the time she wasn’t even sure she’d had a stroke - no facial droop etc just felt a bit dizzy and funny/extremely high blood pressure. Long story short she’d called the GP and 111 who both told her they suspected a stroke and to call an ambulance, paramedics confirmed they also suspected a stroke and brought her into hospital as such. Despite this she wasn’t thrombolised and was left sitting in A&E for 12 hours before any treatment. At the point of being brought in, she was still able to walk, had full use of her arm and speech etc. Because she was left so long, she has completely lost the use of her left side and her speech and vision has been affected, although luckily only by a small amount it seems.
We then also found out from the MRI that she has a meningioma which will need treatment when she’s recovered enough. She was on a stroke ward for a week and then transferred to a neuro rehab home for 6 weeks, she has only been there one week so far and is already able to take some tentative steps on the parallel bars.
I know every recovery is different, but I wondered if anyone had a similar story to my mum i.e. not receiving treatment within a quick timeframe, and could share how they are doing now. We haven’t really been told anything or been given any support so it’s hard to know what to expect, although I’ve been looking at other people’s recovery videos but not many show a real before/after and timelines etc. She is making much better progress with her leg than her arm - is this common? Any advice and personal accounts of recovery would be really helpful and motivational for us right now
Thanks everyone!
Hi @Peoknee and welcome to the community. Sorry to hear of your Mum’s stroke. Sadly, the situation you describe in A&E is common these days but I wonder if the reason she wasn’t thrombolised is because the 4 hr window had passed before you got to A&E given you’d phoned the GP & 111 first. Was it a clot based stroke? If it was a bleed thar may also be a reason they didn’t thrombolise. My stroke presented with dizziness initially & not the typical FAST symptoms. I too walked into A&E but certainly didn’t walk out of hospital. It was my delay that meant my treatment wasn’t prompt because I never sought help for a few days. I was told though that once the stroke had started the affects would have been the same if I had of presented a few days earlier & not been thrombolised.
It is fairly common for people to get use of their leg back quicker than an arm. Arms can be a tricky thing to sort out.
You’ll get fed up of hearing it but it is very early days for your mum yet. Progress will happen it just takes time. A marathon not a sprint as they say.
I hope they get the meningioma sorted for her soon too.
Thank you so much Ann. I know, I’ve already told her off for not going to hospital straight away but she didn’t want to waste their time as she couldn’t put her finger on what was wrong and didn’t want to go to A&E and just say ‘I don’t know what’s wrong, but I feel funny’. It’s really opened my eyes to how much more education about strokes needs to be done, as I had always thought stroke immediately presented with the classic facial droop, can’t raise arms, weakness etc.
Initially I thought that as she could walk into the hospital, it was their delay that caused it to turn into the loss of use of her left side but it’s interesting that you were also the same as her and perhaps it wouldn’t have made a difference.
She’s struggling with the loss of independence but it’s also the unknown - some people recover fully, some people are nearly back to their old selves just with a limp, some people can’t regain their movement at all. That’s why these stories are going to be invaluable for me so I can share some of them with her and remind her to just be patient.
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your mums stroke and that she didn’t get the treatment she needed.
It’s great to hear your mum has taken some steps on the parallel bars, that a really positive step.
There are a few people on here who I’m sure will be along soon who may have had similar experiences and will be able to offer their advice on this too.
It’s early days and this can all be very overwhelming for you, make sure you look after yourself too and if you have questions you can ask away on here, also remember we do have our Stroke Support Helpline:0303 3033 100 that has a wealth of knowledge and can help you to navigate this difficult time.
Wishing your mum all the best with her recovery.
If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
If only I had gone sooner was a question I asked myself many times. I was assured it wouldn’t have made a difference & I now believe that. I was 49 at the time & felt dizzy & sick…could have been anything & sttoke never crossed my mind. I did later (3 days later) lose use of my arm which prompted me to speak to my GP. Still never thought stroke.
Recovery is different for everyone & it is impossible to put a time frame on it. It sounds like she is making some good progress at this early stage so there’s eveey hope there will be significant improvements to come. If she’s determined she’ll do it. There will be good & bad days & watch out for fatigue. Patience is needed in bucket loads too.
I got full use of my arm back. I still struggle with walking but I have another condition that feeds into that. If she’s already taking tentative steps on the parallel bars shes doing great.
Sorry about your mum’s stroke. I have a summary of my progress (with timeline) after stroke in this 13 minute clip https://youtu.be/mVjgv4S8qWY
I am preparing one on my actual stroke. High BP, like your mum ; my story equally dramatic. I received no intervention for the hemorrhage, but was treated for high blood pressure. There was nothing the hospital could have done to reverse the stroke.
Hi Roland,
Thank you for sharing! This is exactly what I think will help my mum right now as the timelines are so helpful. I’m sorry you’ve had this awful experience too. You have made some amazing progress and I’m sure it will continue. I look forward to watching your next video!
