A Dublin man is urging people to always listen to their bodies after he collapsed in front of his heavily pregnant wife with a stroke - and was then told he only had a bad headache.
Mick O’Donnell, originally from Blanchardstown, had a stroke in July 2021 after he woke up for work and felt that something was wrong in his body.
The now 35-year-old father-of-two told Dublin Live: “It was a Friday morning and I was getting up for work, and I just had this sudden pounding headache at the back of the head. I assumed that it was a migraine – I don't suffer from a migraine or anything, but I assumed it was.”
His wife of ten years, Maryjane, was eight months pregnant and was getting ready for work along with him in what would be her last week of work before maternity leave. “I came down the stairs with her and she noticed that I was swaying side to side," Mick recalled.
"I just didn't feel right. And as I turned around, I walked back towards the sitting room and I collapsed on the sofa.”
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Maryjane took him to the hospital but after assessments, health workers told him it was just a headache. Mick insisted for a CT scan and was prepared to walk out and go to a different hospital if they refused.
The doctors then discovered that Mick had suffered a cerebellum stroke and took him to a stroke unit where he stayed for a couple of weeks, without seeing any visitors because it was during the Covid-19 pandemic. Only a week after he was released, Mick was rushed back to hospital because of dizzy spells he was experiencing and had to change his medication. He got out just a day before his wife gave birth to their daughter Emma.
However, he couldn’t hold his baby girl for a long time since he was still suffering the after effects of the stroke. He wasn’t even allowed to be on his own in case he had a fall.
It was because his wife was on maternity leave that she was able to take care of him, along with the newborn Emma and their then 10-year-old son Joshua. “She was the backbone of everything really,” Mick said, adding that his mother-in-law was also a huge help.
Mick received assistance from the Irish Heart Foundation after his stroke, including joining a WhatsApp group for other survivors where he realised that he was not alone in his experiences, nor was he even the youngest person in the group to have a stroke. "Without the support of the Foundation, the road would have been a hell of a lot longer and a hell of a lot harder,” he said.
Mick also brought his wife to some of the therapy sessions he was offered. He recalled: “Stroke doesn't only affect you, it affects everyone around you. And with me, it affected my wife big time because she was dealing with a newborn baby, she was dealing with a husband who a month previous was up and about and active and doing everything around the house.
Mick's life is almost fully back to normal now. He has switched from medical service where he worked as an EMT to the printing industry since his previous job is too intense for him.
However, he still experiences some fatigue which he said is "a major thing for stroke survivors”. He manages it by planning out his day and squeezing in rest times or even naps if possible. Otherwise, he could be down for a day or two with extreme exhaustion.
Mick, who will be 36 in a few weeks, says he is one of the lucky ones – now he knows people who have serious issues going on with speech, balance, walking, and lifting years and years after they have had a stroke. He thinks the key to dealing with this is acceptance.
He said: “You have to accept the fact that you're still alive, you have to accept the fact that you've got a second chance. And I feel personally that the only cure to a stroke is time. It may take two years, three years, four years. You may have disorders throughout your life, but you will get better.
"But you need to have a strong team behind you – your stroke team, your family, your partner, your kids. They're the backbone of stroke survivors. They're the ones who keep you going because it is a lonely process.”
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He also called for more people to listen to their bodies, saying: “If you feel there's something wrong, get it checked. Don’t take the first answer as gospel, only you know your body. If you're not getting the answers you need, get a second opinion.”
Knowing the signs of a stroke is also very important, he said. According to the Irish Heart Foundation, symptoms of stroke include numbness, weakness or paralysis on one side of the body; slurred speech, difficulty thinking of words or understanding other people; confusion; sudden blurred vision or sight loss; being unsteady on your feet; and severe headache.
Irish Heart Foundation chief Chris Macey has recently called on the Government to increase the level of specialist support available to stroke patients both in hospital and the community, saying: “There are fewer than the equivalent of three full-time clinical psychology posts in the whole country to meet the needs of around 6,000 people hospitalised due to stroke every year. This means only one in 20 receive a service.”
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