Laura understands the impact having a stroke at a young age can have all too well. Laura is only 33 but, incredibly, she has already battled through two strokes- the first at just 15 years old, and a mini stroke 10 years later at 25.
Laura says, “I had my first stroke in 2005 when I was only a teenager. I had no symptoms; it came completely out of the blue. I was out with some friends when I just dropped to the ground. I was taken to hospital in Omagh, but nobody’s first thought was for stroke because of my age. The next day I was transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, where I was in Intensive Care for two months. During that period, after many tests and investigations, it was discovered I had suffered a stroke. When I was well enough, I was then moved to Forster Green Hospital in Belfast to continue my recovery.”
“I was in Forster Green for three months and on the day I was discharged the doctors told me I would never walk again and would need a wheelchair for the rest of my life. But I proved them wrong.”
Laura put in a lot of extremely hard work during her recovery period. Laura continues; “If I fell when exercising I got back up and tried again. I also had to learn to speak again through speech therapy. The mental impact was hard to deal with too- at 15 years old the only thing I associated with stroke was death. It was difficult but I kept going. My parents were amazing too, helping push me on with my physiotherapy and supporting me every step of the way.”
“I was determined to recover as best I could. There was no stopping me- I did my GCSEs and A Levels, went to university and got a degree in Biomedical Engineering. I then started working full time and it was in 2015 when I had a mini stroke. Thankfully the effects only lasted a few hours, but the MRI scan I had resulted in me being put forward for brain surgery to prevent future strokes.”
“I went to England for the surgery at a specialist unit. There was a 3% chance the surgery could leave me worse off but I also didn’t want to potentially keep having strokes for the rest of my life, so it was a big decision to have to make. Thankfully I came through the surgery ok. My operation was videoed, and it is now used for teaching purposes at Cambridge Hospital.”
“I have no use of my right arm at all and have issues with one of my ankles, but I have come an amazingly long way. Like Jamie I am not defined by my strokes, and I have pushed on to live my life to the full. I drive, work full time, go to the gym- nothing will stop me and that’s a message I am passionate about sharing with others.”
Laura became an ambassador for NICHS after raising money for the charity through a coffee morning and telling them her story. Laura says, “I absolutely love getting out and meeting people who have been affected by chest, heart or stroke conditions and listening to their stories of why they want to support the charity. When I share my story, everyone is always very shocked, but I am happy to tell it to help raise awareness of stroke and of the work Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke does.”
