Helen's story
Helen had a stroke when she was 23 years old. On the day after graduating from university, she was out for a run. Her arm went floppy, she had tunnel vision and couldn’t stand up. She first waved people on who offered to help, but then a passer-by called the ambulance.
Helen’s stroke affected her movement. She spent one month in hospital, learning to walk and use her left arm again. She then spent some time at home before starting to do other things.
Recovering from her stroke motivated Helen to train as a physiotherapist: “Knowing how much of a difference it makes to someone’s life, that was the deciding factor.”
“I was so desperate to get back to normal life as quickly as possible. Like, all my friends from uni had got jobs, they were all starting and I was still in hospital, I was still at home, rehab-ing myself.”
Helen is proud that she was able to complete her physiotherapy degree and now works as a physiotherapist. She still struggles with tiredness and concentration. It helped that she has always been very determined and good at sticking to a plan. Her family ‘Team Helen’ supported her a lot. For a long time, she saw a psychologist who helped her problem-solving.
It was very hard. But it worked out in the end.
Patient Advice
At uni, record lectures and pace yourself in exams
When I found it hard to concentrate in lectures, I recorded the lecture on a dictaphone. In this way I did not miss anything when I zoned out. In exams, I paced myself to avoid getting tired and panicking towards the end. I started by putting bullet points down for each question first, rather than writing all the way through. I also found earplugs useful to zone out all the other noises because I would get really distracted.
My life with stroke in pictures
