‘You’re never too young to have stroke,’ warns mum after falling victim aged 29
A MOTHER who feared she was being “dramatic” before collapsing at work following a stroke at the age of 29 has said she is lucky to be alive.
Jess Tierney is raising awareness of the life-threatening condition among people her age. She warned: “You’re never too young to have a stroke.”
Paramedics initially put her symptoms down to a panic attack or Bell’s palsy – a temporary paralysis of muscles in the face – before scans showed a blockage in her brain.
The mum of two eventually underwent surgery to remove the blood clot at The Walton Centre, a specialist neurology facility at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool, which offers the service 24 hours a day. It is understood to be one of only nine hospitals in England to do so.
Headache
Jess, who works in teaching recruitment, claims she had none of the traditional risk factors for stroke as she was a healthy weight, stayed fit and did not smoke.
The mum of James, 11, and Max, six, told how she was experiencing shoulder pain while driving to work in February, but put it down to a strain from her pole fitness class.Things progressed on her lunch break when she developed a headache and her mouth and tongue went numb on one side.
Jess of Runcorn, Cheshire, thought she was “being dramatic” but added: “I took paracetamol and it wouldn’t go away.At about 2.30pm, I collapsed. It was a good job I wasn’t at home alone.” At hospital she waited until 7.30pm for a CT scan which showed a blood clot. Another scan revealed a blockage in the brain.
By then, Jess said she was “outside the window” for thrombolysis, a treatment which disperses a clot and is given within four and a half hours of stroke symptoms first appearing.
A thrombectomy removes clots from the artery and is usually performed within six hours of symptoms, but the window can be extended. Jess said: “At this point I’d been told I had a clot on my brain so I was scared.”
Dr Souhyb Masri, a consultant interventional neuroradiologist at The Walton Centre, said: “Whenever someone experiences a stroke, getting it treated in the right way quickly is of paramount importance. I’m confident Jess will continue to recover well.”
In October 2021,TheWalton Centre became the first facility in the North West to offer thrombectomies to stroke patients 24/7 and it has since carried out almost 400 procedures.
Jess spent six days in hospital following surgery and is now recovering. But she has also discovered she has a hole in the heart.
Jess said: “I have physio about three to four times a week. I have to use a walking stick and can do a few steps, but then I have to use a wheelchair.
“I could have died or it could have been life-changing. It’s scary. If you get constant headaches just get checked. Better to be safe than sorry.”
Husband David, 39, is hoping to raise funds for The Walton Centre by climbing Mount Snowdon later this year. The NHS says a stroke is more common over the age of 55, but one in five occurs in younger people.