A Castle Douglas mum is urging people to be aware of stroke symptoms.
Michelle Hughes went to bed with what she thought was a migraine but was actually a clot on her brain.
She now has to cope with fatigue, high blood pressure, a weakness on her left side, drop foot, memory problems and has issues with her speech as the day goes on.
With May being Stroke Awareness Month, she is calling on people to contact medical professionals as soon as they think there is a problem.
Michelle, aged 39, said: “Don’t ever hesitate. The symptoms I had aren’t typical symptoms. I’m kicking myself now because if I’d thought it was a stroke I could have called an ambulance and had the clot bursting drug they can give you up to an hour afterwards.
“If I’d got that, would I be in a better situation than I’m in today?
“But at the end of the day as I keep saying to everyone I’m here.”
Michelle and her husband, Donald, had been decorating their home in October – a month before Michelle’s 39th birthday – when she had what turned out to be a stroke. She said: “I had a headache on the Saturday night but I suffer with migraines anyway so I went to my bed.
“I woke up in the morning with heaviness on my left side – but we’d been decorating so I thought I’d just done too much.
“By the Wednesday I was no better so I called my GP. I had a consultation over the phone and I said someone would see me tomorrow.
“I said to my husband they can’t think it’s anything serious as they couldn’t see me until tomorrow.
“The doctor did a couple of tests then said he was phoning the ambulance as he thought I’d had a stroke.
“I was there myself – and the irony is I drove myself to the doctors. To this day I don’t know how I managed to do it.”
Michelle, who has three kids and a stepson, was taken to DGRI where a CT scan initially showed something – but an MRI scan revealed the extent of the problem.
She said: “The consultant said I’d had a stroke and there was a clot on the right side of my brain the size of a five pence piece.
“I’m on three lots of tablets just to try to contain it – there’s no reason as to why I’ve had it. I’ve not got enough strength in my left side to operate a car – and being the only driver in the family it’s been the hardest pill to swallow.
“Having to rely on all my family is disheartening. Everybody’s been brilliant but my 15-year-old daughter has struggled most with it – the stroke nurse came out and spoke to her about it.”
The most common signs of a stroke are known as FAST symptoms – which stands for facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulties and time to call emergency services.
However, there are other symptoms, including sudden headaches, sudden memory loss, dizziness, sudden weakness or numbness and blurred vision.
Michelle, who spent five nights in hospital, added: “More folk need to be aware it’s not just the FAST symptoms. It’s a scary situation to be in.
“I go out now and again and some people don’t know I’ve had a stroke.
■ For more information about stroke symptoms and what to do, visit www.stroke.org.uk
