Interview Section : Healthtalkonline

Full list of topics

What happened? The first few days after a stroke :
The event: A stroke or transient ischaemic attack
Getting medical help
Getting a diagnosis
Early care experiences
A doctor speaks – an introduction to stroke

What problems did I have, and why? :
Changes to movement
Changes in sensations
Changes to vision
Continence and cathererisation
Eating and drinking
Speech and communication
Thinking, understanding, memory and fatigue
Emotional Impact of stroke

Why me? Why now? Reducing risk of another stroke? :
Causes and risk factors
Medication to prevent another stroke
Surgery
Preventing another stroke: Changes in life style

What happens now? Rehabilitation & care :
Stroke recovery: daily activities and personal care
Stroke recovery: physical aspects and mobility
Stroke recovery: communication disorders
Leaving hospital

Life after stroke. What is the long-term like? :
Major disability
When stroke is coupled with other health problems
When stroke happens at a young age
Coping strategies and resilience
Continuing care at home and institutional care
Driving and transport
What's important in care
Social support
Support from patients and support groups
Sex life and impact on relationships
Messages to others
Finding information

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Stroke

People's stories

Age 21-45

Jessica - Interview 57

Jessica - Interview 57

Age at Interview: 23
Sex: Female
Age at Diagnosis: 21
Background: Jessica is a reflexology student. Her ethnic background is white.

Brief outline:Jessica is 23 years old and had a stroke 2 years ago when she was 21. She has now recovered from this and is no longer receiving rehabilitation treatment.

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Jessica experienced her stroke while she was cleaning her car. When her neighbour tried to help her, she tried to respond and her speech came out garbled.
Print I was actually cleaning the car when it, I sort of first, well I was cleaning the car on the inside and I felt like my right arm. I went to open the door and my right arm was sort of like just like fallen and stuff. So I was like, “Oh.” Were you driving, or was …? No I was parked outside. And so I went inside and I was feeling a bit sort of dizzy and a bit sort of, oh, a bit spaced out and things. So I was sitting at the table and then my next door neighbour asked me to move the car and so I sort of went, I was stood up and like my, my leg started to go a wee bit and I was just a bit sort of like wobbly and things. And I went outside and I fell sort of under the door, of the neighbour and then I was sort of, she was speaking to me but I couldn’t say anything. It was just a sort of like garbled message type thing. I could hear everything she was saying and I could sort of process it but it was just a bit sort of like garbled, my speaking. It just came on all of a sudden. I was just cleaning my car and then all of a sudden my numb, my leg went numb and like my arm went numb. It just was cut off like, it just was, I could feel just like cut off from the shoulder. It did. It was quite frightening. I think when I initially sort of collapsed and my neighbour’s daughter I had, I was crying and crying. And I think I was probably having a panic attack as well because I didn’t know what was going happening and of course I couldn’t speak.

Jessica talks about her other health conditions in addition to her stroke and how this has impacted her life at such a young age.
Print Were you given any indication as to what caused you to have the stroke? I have, well I did, I have a blood condition which makes my blood clot a lot faster. And I was on the pill. And I was on a drug for my rheumatoid arthritis and they say that rheumatoid arthritis can cause strokes anyway. So it was a combination of like a few things. Oh right. Yeah. Were you aware of those risks before? No. OK. Did you look, I don’t know did you look back at the medication you were on to see what was said? Yeah. And did it say something about that like Yeah. ..it’s a rare occasion or something was it? Yeah like, like 2% of people… Yeah. ..you can have. You must be gutted? Yeah but we didn’t find out I had a blood condition until after I had my stroke. It’s quite tough sometimes. I get quite frustrated that it’s sort of all happened to me like in few, in like about two years, like I had, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Then I had my stroke. And then I’ve just been sort of diagnosed with lupus and things like that and it’s just. Oh really. … it’s sort of all come together in like the two years and I’m like, I used to be so well [laughs]. Type thing. Like when I was younger. But, I still am but it’s just quite frustrating. Is lupus something that you would have had for a long time that they’ve only just discovered or … Yeah. I think… ..it’s a hereditary, is it a genetic … I think so … …condition or… ...so, yeah They say that I could have had it since I was wee because I used to have quite, I used to get quite sensitive skin, when I was out in the sunshine and then I used to get I used to get like chest pains when I was a bit older and then it sort of came to a head last year.

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