I first started working in mental health at the age of 18 and then gradually climbed the ladder to working within psychiatric secure units across Scotland. I worked with a wide range of individuals - one of the most memorable experiences being the five years I worked for BIRT, now called Brainkind, as a rehabilitation support worker.
I am Katie, a 37-year-old mum of two.
Almost two and a half years ago, just a week after my 35th birthday, I suffered a series of 3 mini strokes caused by a neck injury which led to my blood vessel bending and stopping the blood flow to my brain.
My name is Sarah Lacertosa. I am currently Mrs. Monmouth County International 2025. I have an experience to share with you in the hope that it will bring awareness around the often overlooked Vertebral Artery Dissection (VAD), a common cause of strokes in patients under the age of 45.
My name is Joan. I’m 49 years old from Sheffield, England. In October 2017, I suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage. I was fit, healthy and had no symptoms. I simply left my workplace as normal at 5pm on a Friday afternoon, climbed into my car and all I remember is a huge clap of thunder in my head. Then, I found myself looking at the car key in my hand and laughing, thinking, “I don’t know what to do with this!”
My name is Terry and in December of 2020 I had a stroke due to complications with COVID-19. It was diagnosed as an acute ischemic right middle cerebral artery stroke, and was described to me as “you had 5 mini-strokes at one time.”
My name is Polly Williamson and in December 2011, aged 42 years, I was kicked in the head by a horse causing a traumatic brain injury. I was in a coma for 11 days and had post traumatic amnesia for two months.
On 8th April 2019 my life changed forever. I was a fit, healthy, non-smoking fun loving 49-year-old who lived life to the fullest. I was having a great time skiing on a snowy Italian mountain on the annual ski trip with the school I work at when, without warning, I felt this sudden pain like I had been smashed in the head. It was a pain I will never forget, nor do I ever want to feel it again. I had no idea that what was unravelling in my head could have killed me.
My name is Ruth, I’m 55, and I suffered two ruptured aneurysms: one in 2005 and another in 2012.
The first one was treated with a neurosurgical clip; honestly, it wasn't too bad. I was around an hour away from home in the hospital, but my oldest friend came to see me on the bus with her two kids every single day. My brother also came to visit me at the weekends. I was home within a month but remember being terrified to be left on my own.
I frequently complained about intense pain behind one of my eyes, which I assumed was a migraine. This pain often left me violently sick throughout the day, but the common advice I received was simply to have a can of Coke to ease the discomfort.
By this time, I had become a regular at the doctor’s office, having been referred to an optician, and experiencing multiple changes to my contraception. All of this seemed to be part and parcel of being cabin crew and living with the effects of fluctuating air pressure.
On May 9, 2024, Timofey suffered an ischemic stroke in the brainstem, which then caused a hemorrhagic symptom in the pontine region. This life-altering event has brought numerous challenges, but also moments of profound hope and progress.