A student who thought he had a bad hangover ended up on a stroke ward just hours later.
Jameel Razak, 23, had been enjoying a catch-up with mates in the pub before waking up the next day with what he thought was the world’s worst hangover.
However, the now 25-year-old had actually suffered a stroke in his sleep, leaving him with a piercing headache and sickness.
The journalism student first noticed something was wrong when he tried to stand up and collapsed to the floor in March 2022, reports Teesside Live.
He said: “I was pretty confident that I’d wake up tomorrow after a sleep and I’d be good as new – maybe it was just a little blip. So I persuaded my parents somehow to let me be for the night and not to worry.”
The following day, Jameel woke up and realised his symptoms had worsened – he had a ringing in his ear, struggled with his hand-eye coordination and the right side of his body was numb.
His parents rang for an ambulance and he was admitted to the stroke ward at the University Hospital of North Tees.
Jameel received treatment on the ward for 17 days and continued his physical and cognitive therapy as a discharged patient at home.
Talking about his hospital stay, Jameel said: “I remember when I first came to hospital and everyone on the ward was in their 60s and 70s. I remember feeling so lonely so every time a nurse came round I was chewing their ear off.
“And in the end I was thinking ‘You know what, this hospital stay’s not that bad’. I was enjoying the conversations with nurses – it keeps you going. I will say to stroke survivors who are on ward 41 that you’re in good hands.”
Following a transoesophageal echocardiogram (an ultrasound probe which goes down the throat to check the heart), Jameel was found to have a small hole in his heart. It allows blood, and therefore any clots, to flow between his heart valves and into the body, including his brain.
Jameel recently underwent keyhole surgery at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle to repair his heart, reducing his chances of a repeat stroke – something that gives Jameel a huge sense of relief.
He is still in stroke recovery and suffering from some long-term symptoms, including fatigue and some cognitive impairments such as linking words to their meanings.
However, Jameel has a new lease on life. He has picked up where he left off at university and is focusing his energy on doing his best and taking pride in his work. He has even re-focused his final university project and is producing a 15-minute documentary about stroke and stroke survivors.
Jameel said: “Since I’ve had a stroke, the one thing I’ve noticed is that people aren’t as aware as they should be that young people can have a stroke. It’s given me a purpose and I want to create something that raises awareness and educates people, but also to show people in my situation that there’s life after stroke.
“I missed out on a lot last year. I was 23, becoming a lot more independent and doing things for myself – and I had it snatched away in an instant.
“Having a stroke has shown me what I’m made of. I didn’t think I could ever go through something like that and come out the other side a better person, a better version of myself.
“My plan now is to finish university and then just... live life.”
