A mum lost her baby in a miscarriage caused by a stroke just days after getting pregnant.
Emma Raven thought strokes were "an old person thing" before she had one aged 33. For three years, she'd been trying to get pregnant, eventually succeeding on the first round of IVF. But the following week, the woman from Netherton started vomiting in work, with a headache so painful "you want to hit yourself".
Colleagues suggested it was morning sickness, but unknown to her, it was actually a stroke she believes was likely caused by IVF. The hormones used in preparation for the treatment can rarely cause strokes, which is when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. The day after leaving work sick, Emma went to a doctor who suggested it was stress, so she went home.
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She decided to have a nap but when Emma woke she said she spoke like she was "drunk" and got "upset" in A&E because she couldn't remember her date of birth.
Sudden, severe headaches and confusion are two lesser known symptoms of stroke, which occur every five minutes in the UK. With 1.3 million stroke survivors and 100,000 people having strokes each year, it's one of the leading causes of death and disability in the UK. But most people in the North West of England aren't aware it can affect hearing and vision, and cause fatigue, according to a new survey from the Stroke Association.
Scans revealed Emma lost her baby in the aftermath of the strke, and she is now disabled. Now 41, Emma struggles with balance, numbers and some social situations. She has vision problems that cause trouble reading, and she gets confused between knives and forks. Despite this, she stays positive in her outlook, but one of the hardest parts of what happened was that, with no further IVF possible, "the stroke stopped the dream of a baby".
The former pharmacy dispensing assistant adores her sister's kids, but she struggled at first to adapt to a future with none of her own. She said: "My sister was heavily pregnant when I had the stroke, so that was hard. When we went shopping for maternity stuff, it was very hard and upsetting. I cried a few times. But as time's gone, I've just accepted that it is what it is, and I accept and treasure what I have got."
She added: "The motto I've had for years is that it could be worse. That's my motto, because my family didn't know if I'd be there for Christmas. I'm very lucky. I'm here and I treasure that I'm here. It could have been a lot worse, but you have to just keep going. Some people are very angry and bitter about what happened to them, but I chose not to be. It's happened, and I'll deal with it as best I can. I've not once said, 'Why me?', and I refuse to say it."
Emma said she "couldn't have asked for better family or friends", but the Stroke Association has been an "absolute lifeline" for her. Through the charity, she connected with other people who'd survived strokes, giving her an understanding support network to help her through recovery.
Emma said: "With out Stroke Association, my support group and my family and friends, I would not be where I am today. I will never be the same person as before, but a better version of me. The stroke was terrible, but the Stroke Association and my group gave me some confidence."
Now Emma is "doing things [she] never thought [she'd] be able to after a stroke". She's an ambassador for the Stroke Association, helping with fundraising, giving talks about strokes, and helping new stroke survivors.
Juliet Bouverie OBE, the charity's chief executive, said: "Stroke strikes every five minutes in the UK and while it changes lives in an instant, the brain can adapt and rebuild after stroke. That's why research means everything to our nation's 1.3 million stroke survivors and their families, because of the life-changing impact it could have on their future. Our pioneering research has been at the centre of major breakthroughs that have saved lives and sparked innovation in stroke care and treatment. From laying the foundations for the Act FAST campaign, one of the most successful public health awareness campaigns in England, to funding early research into the emergency stroke treatment thrombectomy (the manual removal of stroke-causing blood clots), many patients have been spared the most devastating effects of stroke as a result of our research.
"Despite stroke still being the fourth biggest killer in the UK, research has helped to more than halve the rate of deaths from stroke over the last three decades. It's absolutely crucial that we continue this progress, but we can't do this without vital funding. Far less is spent 'per survivor' on research into stroke than on research into any other health condition. We would never want to take researchers or money away from other conditions such as cancer, but we do want to replicate the success that cancer research has had, so that we can continue to make breakthroughs in stroke treatment and care.
"Now our focus is on improving life, after stroke strikes. The Stroke Association is the only organisation dedicated to funding research into ongoing rehabilitation for stroke survivors. Our research means everything to stroke survivors and their families. It gives hope for a better recovery, living more independently, a future. We're calling on people to donate where they can to support our research and help give stroke survivors and their families the progress they deserve."
