Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
My brain had just had the biggest shock of its life yet I was sent home from hospital after a few days ..it was too much Stroke survivor urges more support for sufferers
A STROKE survivor has called for better aftercare for patients affected by the deadly condition.
Rosemary Brown has been left with speech and memory problems and also suffers from extreme fatigue as a result of a stroke she had earlier this year.
Despite this, she was discharged from hospital just days later with next to no help from the NHS.
With more than 36,000 survivors in Northern Ireland, the grandmotherof-three, from Killinchy, Co Down, is now urging people to respond to a public consultation to ensure everyone gets the right care.
She explained: “I’m so grateful for the great care I received in hospital but I felt lost when I was sent home.
“My brain had just had the biggest shock of its life and I was feeling shell -shocked.
“I didn’t know where to turn and felt a bit abandoned for few weeks.
“When I was sent home from hospital I was given a few leaflets but I don’t think my brain could really process that information at the time. It was just all too much.”
Rosemary, a social worker for more than 20 years, was at work at Ards Hospital when she fell ill in March.
Aged just 57 and living a busy and active life, she tried to play down what was happening to her.
She said: “I had a bit of headache and felt a bit unco-ordinated.
“But I just dismissed it as the usual tiredness people get by the time Friday comes around. Suddenly my legs just left me. I hit the floor and people were crowding around.
“Again, I just tried to dismiss it. I thought I’d fainted.
“Luckily my colleague Elaine insisted I get checked out. I’ll always be grateful to her.
“My speech was getting mumbled, my face had dropped and my vision was blurred by the time an ambulance took me to the Ulster Hospital.”
It was the action taken by her colleagues, who recognised the signs of a stroke and insisted she was checked out, that saved Rosemary’s life.
Within three hours of the symptoms starting, she received thrombolysis – a clot-busting drug that enables the blood to begin pumping around the brain again.
While Rosemary knows she could have been left with much worse disabilities, she said she felt isolated at the lack of support she received after her discharge.
She continued: “My stroke was a terrifying experience. Although I’d
I didn’t know where to turn to and just felt abandoned
worked on stroke wards during my career and met many survivors, you never really know what it’s like until you experience it.
“I thought I knew but I really didn’t and it’s going to take some time for me and my family to come to terms with what’s happened.
“I was discharged home with very little planned follow-up.
“The only follow up from hospital was with the stroke consultant. This was quite scary and isolating.
“The impact of the stroke – physically and emotionally – has been
KILLINCHY YESTERDAY
huge. I’m lucky I can still walk and move around comfortably but the invisible effects are significant.
“My short term memory isn’t great and I have really bad fatigue.
CHALLENGES
“One of the biggest challenges has been with my speech which can become very difficult, especially if I’m tired or feeling anxious.
“It’s as if the words just leave me and I can’t express myself. As someone who spent a lot of my career talking with people, I really struggle with this. Being able to communicate is so important and when you’re struggling, it can be frustrating and very upsetting. Having aphasia means I have lost my words, not my intellect.”
With no real after care, Rosemary turned to the charities Stroke Association and Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke who have proved invaluable to her.
She said: “They have brought me back from some very low, depressing days with help for my aphasia and emotional and practical needs.
“I believe the stroke charities should be part of the discharge pathway from hospital, this is so important.
“As a survivor, I know how important it is to improve stroke services in Northern Ireland so everyone gets the help they need to make the best recovery possible.”
Rosemary’s appeal for as many people as possible to respond to the consultation is supported The Stroke Association
Spokeswoman Brenda Maguire said it is common for sufferers to complain they feel abandoned after they leave hospital and that they struggle to access care to help them recover.
The proposal document on reshaping stroke services in Northern Ireland closes at 5pm today and can be accessed by logging on to www. hscboard.hscni.net/stroke.