This is one of those cases of it will never happen to me. And yet, here we are, I’m recovering from a stroke. As a fit and healthy, active runner, how could this possibly happen. Turns out, this can happen to anyone, at any age and for many reasons. This is my story of how a normal Friday afternoon suddenly and without warning turned into a nightmare. This is my stroke survival story.

All strokes are potentially fatal. They must be taken very seriously and treated immediately. It’s important to recognise the symptoms of a stroke and get help straight away. Think it’s just an old person thing? That’s just a myth.

I encourage everyone to read and bookmark this Stroke Foundation page, it shows you the symptoms and tells you what to do. Everyone should know. Stroke survival can depend on this knowledge.

Strokes occur in the brain. There are two types. The most common type, ischaemic stroke, occurs when there is a blockage of an artery in the brain, usually a blood clot or some other blockage. A hemorrhagic stroke happens when an artery in the brain leaks blood or bursts.

Mine was the ischaemic type, caused by a blockage in an artery in the cerebellum.

So what happened? Let’s go through this very unfortunate ordeal.

How It Happened.

Friday 15/10.

This was the second week of lockdown number 8, and I was at home.

I was sitting at my desk and was looking at my phone. With no warning and in an instant the world started spinning uncontrollably and very fast. Even sitting at the desk, I could not control my balance, I was completely disorientated and felt myself trying to hang onto the desk for balance.

I had very little sense of balance, my head was spinning, and I could feel nausea building because of the disorientation.

I eventually made it to the toilet, crawling and vomiting. For the next two hours I could not move, I was home alone and I could not make it back to my phone. I just had to wait until my housemate (Scott) got home from work. My head was throbbing.

Ambulance Debacle.

When Scott got home, he called an ambulance. At this stage my head was pounding with headache and I couldn’t move because of the disorientation and the nausea.

The ambulance did not come. They called Scott about 30 minutes later and asked for the symptoms. The people at the ambulance said it sounded like a case of Vertigo. They said they would not be able to send an ambulance for four hours and that if I wanted to go to hospital I should get a cab or be driven there.

Eventually I was helped to bed, believing it was probably vertigo and that I would most likely feel better in the morning. I could not swallow painkillers, I tried to sleep, laying flat on my back seemed to help a little.

Admitted to Hospital.

Saturday 16/10.

Managing to sleep a little, I awoke with a pounding head. The world had stopped spinning, but if I moved my head too quickly, a feeling of unbalance and nausea came over me.

Scott had to work at 6.30am. Since he was unlicensed, I drove him to work ten minutes away, thinking I was improving.

At home, I was starting to go downhill again. There were bouts of nausea and vomiting, I could only manage to drink a little water, I couldn’t eat.

By mid-morning I knew something wasn’t right, I was doubting that it could possibly be vertigo. I called my son to take me to the Mildura Base Hospital, I was overcome with feelings of disorientation and chronic pain in the back of my head.

Expecting to wait some time to see a doctor, the triage nurse quickly took my obs and took me through to the emergency ward, where I saw a doctor. I was given painkillers, which I managed to keep down, but they didn’t work. The doctor ordered a CT scan, and I was fitted with a cannula, so they could administer paid relief intravenously.

What the CT Scan Revealed.

In a complete shock, the doctor revealed that I had suffered a large Cerebellum Stroke caused by a blockage in a cerebellum artery and that there was quite a bit of damage.

As an active, fit and healthy individual, in training for the Melbourne Marathon, I was in complete shock how this could happen to me. I knew nothing about strokes, except I knew this was very bad.

Time was of the essence now for my stroke survival. If there was any worse blockage or if it moved, I would require immediate life-saving brain surgery to remove the obstruction. This type of operation could only be done by neurosurgeons in Melbourne. The hospital determined that I should be transferred to the Stroke Unit at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

Sunday 17/10.

Having slept on and off all night and still not being able to eat or drink, I stayed in the ward while the hospital organised the transfer.

Later that night, I was taken by ambulance to the Mildura airport to meet the air ambulance to get me to Melbourne.

Covid-19 Vaccination.

At this point, I should state that just two days prior to the stroke happening, I was given my second Covid-19 shot. I mentioned this to the various doctors and nurses. Nobody knew if this was related, but that it could not be ruled out.

I had not suffered any noticeable ill-effects from either of the shots until this point.

Transferred to the Stroke Unit at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital.

Monday 18/10.

Having arrived around midnight, I was taken to a stroke unit ward and wired up to an ECG machine. My blood was taken, and my obs checked by nurses every four hours.

I was ordered nil-by-mouth and put onto a drip for sustenance and hydration.

A new CT scan would be done as soon as possible.

The new CT scan confirmed what the Mildura doctors had found. There was cerebellum stroke, and quite a bit of damage in the area. They also ordered an MRI scan for a more detailed look at the stroke area.

Slept on and off during the day, was feeling very weak and tired, and the headache was still very bad. My obs were taken every four hours, and I was given painkillers.

That night, I was finally able to eat a little from the evening meal without immediately throwing it back up.

I was feeling very unsteady on my feet walking to the toilet.

No surgery has been ordered.

Second Day in Stroke Unit.

Tuesday 19/10.

Today has seen the chronic headache wane a little, still being given painkillers regularly to help.

I was able to walk a little farther, but still feeling quite unsteady. Unable to focus on my phone for very long, my eyesight is a little blurry. Too much movement causes the headache to flare. I have also been constipated since the day it happened and generally feeling unwell.

This afternoon, I was visited by a cardiologist who had been monitoring the ECG. He did some more tests and discovered that there was an irregular heartbeat. It wasn’t causing any major issues at this stage, but it was something they wanted to monitor. Since many blockages can originate in the heart, they wanted to investigate further in case there may be others.

I am now able to eat all the provided meals, including breakfast. These meals are of excellent quality, and I was enjoying finally being able to eat a meal.

They did not do the MRI today.

Third Day in Stroke Unit.

Wednesday 20/10.

Another night of patchy sleep, I am not sleeping as much during the day now.

The headache is gradually subsiding, the medication is helping with this. My stroke survival is looking good now.

A physiotherapist came today to help me start walking again. Apart from short walks to the toilet, I had not walked very far at all. We used the ward passageways for a fifteen-minute session, with a few different exercises. At times, I felt quite unsteady, but the session definitely got the legs moving again.

I was finally taken for an MRI, my first ever. The doctor would relay the results to me after examining the images.

The nausea had virtually disappeared.

I was given medication for the constipation, which eventually worked.

Fourth Day in Stroke Unit.

Thursday 21/10.

The doctor came today with the results of the MRI. I was shown the images.

The images revealed the large cerebellum stroke, there was a lot of tissue damage around the area. The brain seems to be re-routing around the blockage, which is something I can almost feel happening as the headaches subside every day.

Damage in the area is unlikely to ever repair, but the specialists feel that I won’t require any brain surgery. The brain is healing itself around the damaged area.

The doctor advised that I should not have any jarring therapy on the neck, including chiropractic. Gentle physiotherapy or massage would be fine.

Unfortunately, the specialists are unable to determine where the blockage came from. These often originate in the heart, so they made appointments for me at a cardiology clinic in Mildura for follow-up tests.

There would also be a follow-up telehealth consultation with the stroke specialists at the Alfred hospital in three months time to check on recovery progress.

I once again asked about the Covid-19 shot, the doctor said he couldn’t rule it out as a possible cause.

Given the all-clear, I would be transferred back to the Mildura Base Hospital.

At 11am, I was taken to an ambulance for the drive back to Mildura. We arrived at the MBH at 5pm after three rest stops along the way.

After being placed into a ward, my obs were checked, I was given some food, and I went to sleep fairly early.

Back in the Local Hospital.

Friday 22/11.

Today, all the final checks would be done to determine if I was well enough to be discharged.

The hospital had an occupational therapist, optometrist, dietician, and a physiotherapist come to see me and conduct various tests.

I was feeling much better. The headache was nearly gone, my eyesight had returned to normal, and my walking was balanced and steady.

Finally, the hospital pharmacist came to see me and explained the medications that the doctors at the Alfred has prescribed for me. Aspirin had been prescribed as an ongoing medication to thin the blood and hopefully prevent any further blockages. This is to be taken for life.

Secondly, there was a statin prescribed to treat a slightly high LDL level. The blood tests revealed this problem, but as a vegetarian I was at a loss to explain this. We identified that the culprit may have been a coconut based yoghurt that I ate most days. Apparently this is extremely high in saturated fats. I have subsequently removed this from my diet, and I plan to get myself off the statin as soon as possible.

Finally, at 3.30pm, the doctor came to advise me that I could go home.

At 5pm, my son picked me up and I went home to continue recovery.

First Day Back Home.

Saturday 23/11.

So good to sleep in my own bed undisturbed.

In the morning I took a walk to the supermarket, and it felt good. I was steady on my feet and I made a reasonably good pace, there were no other problems.

Although feeling a little disorientated to begin with, I quickly adjusted to being back home.

The Road to Recovery.

Now begins the reintegration back into normal life. With the expectation that it won’t happen again, and with the approval of the doctors, I can attempt to resume normal life and running again.

My first attempt at running on the following Tuesday was tentative but reasonably successful. My legs felt like lead weights and I tired quickly, but I was able to knock out 7k.

Being off my feet for nearly two weeks has certainly taken its toll. I also re-started my daily exercises, which mainly consists of stretching and leg and arm exercises to maintain flexibility and strength.

Wednesday included some walking. Thursday, I joined my running group for our weekly workout. I was quite a bit slower than normal but managed to complete the workout.

Friday I walked a for about one hour. Saturday morning, I joined my running group for our weekly long run. I ran for 14k and joined them for breakfast and coffee afterwards as we always do. I had a nap in the afternoon for about two hours as the run had really taken it out of me.

The next week I spent building up my endurance with walking, running, and exercises. On Friday 5/11 I went back to work. This was a full-day shift and as I work in retail, I was on my feet all day. I managed to handle this pretty well.

The reintegration into normal life seems to be progressing fairly well.

What Now?

Suffering a stroke is no small thing, and for some people it can cause death. There are others who suffer lifelong forms of paralysis, and others who can recover in full or in part with rehabilitation. One thing is clear, it affects different people in different ways.

I was lucky that I was able to recover quickly, with seemingly no lasting ill-effects that are apparent right now. The doctors have put this down to my health and fitness, it definitely helps with how you recover.

In my case, the doctors couldn’t find a definitive cause. Was it caused by the slightly high LDL (allegedly bad cholesterol) in the blood causing a blockage? It seems odd to me that as a long-term vegetarian that the slightly high LDL could be the problem.

In order to lower the LDL I was prescribed a statin, and told I would need it for life. To me this is unacceptable, surely a modification of the diet away from any foods that elevate the LDL would be a much more desirable method of treatment.

Was it caused by the Covid-19 shot? No-one has been able to rule this out either.

Is there a problem with my heart that may have caused the blockage? We don’t know if that’s the case either. The cardiology tests may reveal any issues if they exist.

Going forward, there are still a lot of tests to be done to get some answers. However, we may never know what caused the stroke.

I was one of the lucky ones. This has been a valuable wake-up call. As fit and healthy as you may think you are, you never really know what’s going on inside. Things can go wrong, often with no warning whatsoever.

For now, it’s time to rebuild. I’m still entered in this year’s Melbourne Marathon in just five weeks time, it’s time to get back into training and give it my best shot. At this stage I don’t feel well after training, it may be a bridge too far at this stage, time will tell.

Once again, education about stroke is vital, it could save your own life, or that of someone you love. Go to Stroke Foundation for all this important, must know information.

Finally, I would like to thank all the people who helped me through this ordeal. The doctors and nurses at the Mildura Base Hospital and the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne were amazing, I felt so privileged and thankful to be in their care. To my son Stewart, Scott, my family and friends, ambulance staff, my workmates, and everyone else, a great big thank you, all the messages of support meant so much.

I will keep you posted with my progress and updates in the RMWA emails, please subscribe if you haven’t already.

Happy running

Steve

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