A man in his 20s thought he was going to die after he had a terrifying stroke at home.
Dominick Nicholas was working as a mechanical fitter at Jaguar Land Rover and had just purchased his first home when he noticed his mood was changing. The 25-year-old from Wallasey found himself snapping, feeling down, and getting angry and upset but put it all down to the stress of renovating his house.
But in August last year Dominick woke to find his right side completely numb. When he tried to speak he was repeating himself and slurring his words.
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His girlfriend Laura realised he was having a stroke and called an ambulance. Dominick was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered the cause of the stroke was a brain arteriovenous malformation - an extremely rare tangle of poorly developed blood vessels.
His mood swings had been caused by the blood vessels bursting and healing multiple times causing mini-strokes in the part of his brain that regulated emotions.
Dominick said: “When the stroke happened, I thought I was going to die. I closed my eyes and blacked out, I have no memories of that time but I wasn’t unconscious. When I woke up a week later, I realized the right side of my body wouldn’t move, and I was on an intensive care ward.
“I couldn’t walk or talk at all. My friends and family were really shocked as I was so young, they didn’t expect it. When people think of strokes, they think of an elderly person. Even among young stroke survivors, there are people in their sixties who think they’re too young to have had a stroke.”
Dominick underwent a complex 9-hour operation at The Walton Centre to remove the blood vessels. The left side of his brain was damaged by the stroke which meant he was unable to use the right side of his body and couldn't talk.
Dominick was diagnosed with non-fluent aphasia, meaning he struggled to produce words and sounds and retrieve language.
But incredibly two weeks after the surgery he realised he could sing Frank Sinatra's 'Fly me to the Moon' as a different part of the brain controls music and singing to the part which was damaged.
Dominick said: “When I realised I could sing, I hoped that meant I’d eventually be able to talk again. When I first started being able to talk again, I didn’t have a Merseyside accent any more. I sounded like a robot or Siri. It feels so weird when one day you just wake up with a different voice.
"I felt like I had lost part of my identity – but everyone else was just really pleased I was talking."
Dominick said "it was a waste of time feeling sad about what happened" and has been working hard with a therapist at The Brain Charity to slowly relearn to pronounce his words. Overtime he's even managed to get his Merseyside accent back.
He credits neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to rewire and create new neural pathways after injury or damage – with the progress he’s been able to make so far.
Dominick was offered free speech and language therapy by The Brain Charity who has kept him motivated on his recovery. He said: "Aphasia isn't the end of your life. If someone you know has aphasia give them the time to talk. For me I just wanted to be treated the way I was before.
"It can be very easy to just be like 'this is it' and give up. I definitely experienced that when I was coming out of hospital, but working with The Brain Charity motivated me to keep going."
Nanette Mellor, CEO at The Brain Charity, said: “The emotional and mental health impact of aphasia can be huge. Feeling frustrated and literally voiceless in society is common.
"For many day-to-day activities, talking is how we communicate and if you can’t speak, simple tasks like going to a shop or Post Office or getting a bus can become very difficult. There is also the financial and economic impact – loss of employment is a massive factor, people who have experienced aphasia may feel they can no longer work, or face losing their jobs.
“Speech and language therapy (SALT) is vital to support people with aphasia, like Dominick, who we are so proud of for sharing his story and so glad we’ve been able to help. But sadly, across the board, community-based SALT has been completely stripped back.
“What we’re seeing now is that people are given SALT while they’re in hospital, but when they’re discharged they’re left to get on with things on their own, with little help. At The Brain Charity, we would love to be able to employ a full time speech and language therapist to support those who are most in need, as we have seen first-hand the hugely positive impact SALT can have on people with aphasia’s lives."
To find out more about The Brain Charity and how to support the work it does click here.
