chapter 5 They say things always happen in three’s

made whole and new
Nov 2 · 9 min read

It’s strange that people always think bad happen in three. And while that is true we seem to focus more on three bad things than what has happened. So in the tradition of bad things always happen in threes, please lead your eyes and read more about the three seizures that have happened this year.

Its strange with all three I can remember before and after, but never while the seizure is happening.

THE FRIST SEIZURE

It’s a new year and I am back at work after trying to sort out different paper work to try to get back to work. Me being me, I go in to it too quickly; trying to prove to every one that I am ok and that I am just as able to work the same hours as I was before the stroke.

I seem to remember I was meant to be on a prep shift, but then at the same time the person who was meant to be washing up and doing a close phoned/sent a message to say they weren’t able to do their shift.

So I offered to stay on and complete a KP close.(washing up for those not in the catering industry.) I was doing ok in my shift, there were times that I felt a bit strange but being me ( I was trying to prove that I was ok), I put it to one side not really thinking much about it as I was focusing too much on my work.

After a few extra hours of work, I decided to have some lunch. Once I had made myself some lunch I went up the stairs to the office to eat my lunch ( I told another staff member I was going up to have some food.) Whilst I was eating my lunch, I had just finished the burger and was getting through a small portion of chips when I started to get a strange sensation in my left arm. The best way to describe the sensations is it was like pins and needles but a sunned sharp pain instead of the annoying numbness you normally get in pins and needles. Once I had moved my hand a few times the pain went away, so I continued to eat my lunch not thinking much of it.

All of the next bit until I woke up I don’t remember, so the next part has been told to me by people I work with. The person I was working with on the late shift told me they heard a big thud from the kitchen, so they went upstairs to the office and saw me and went down straight away. They said to someone I was working with that they should call for an ambulance, they were a bit confused as to what the other person meant, however they called for an ambulance and then went upstairs to look after me.

I don't know how long I was out for but the rest of this seizure I do remember. I remember waking up and looking at the floor with one leg over and with my left hand on the floor know to any one who have done a first aid course they would know that the position I briefly described is the recovery position :) I was told to keep my head down by one of the floor team I was with it then went all dark again. I then remember waking up fully awake I knew where i was but not anything of just happened. just as I was fully awake when the paramedics arrived , I remember waving and smiling at them as they came in to the office. It seems strange know and while I write this section I seem my self smiling a little.

Once they had checked to see if everything was ok I was then taken thourgh the café down to the street which was a bit embarrassing as the office is on the top floor so I had to be strapped to a wheel chare a wheeled through with customers looking at me, it did make me a bit strange, but I knew they where only following safety procedures.

once I got to the BRI I was taken to the A+E unit where I was given a CT scan. I was then taken to the other part of the A+E unit where they what you more closely. Then the doctor came discharge me from the hospital I was then given 100mg of kepra (there is another name but I can’t remember what is called) which is the lowest form of the medication to try and stop the seizures happening Again.

Number 2

So you would think that one seizure would be for one person to handle but as always it doesn’t work like that as before everything that I put in this blog is done by witness from over people. As I don’t remember what happen during my stroke and seizures. Apart from the later on blog posts which are more about my personal struggle living as a stroke saviour.

So any way the story continues I had my second seizure around the beginning of January I had woken up as normal ( the only change is that I had missed three days of my Keppra,) not really thinking much of much that was about to happen to me. I remember not having any signs what was about to happen to me, so I had my shower as normal, once I had the shower I remember feeling really sleepy when I finished the shower. So I went to lie down in our spear room. now as always I need to emphasize that is taken from a witness statement.

I was found bymy auntie lying in one of the beds. At first she thought I was just sleeping, so she went down to get my mum who was at first wasn’t happy and just thought I was being lazy and not getting up. My mum then called my auntie to come up stairs, I’ve been told by auntie that my eyes where open but I wasn’t responding to anything my mum or auntie was saying. My mum call 999 and while my mum was calling for an ambulance. While they where waiting for the ambulance to arrive I have been told that my auntie keep talking to e saying everything was going to be ok and how she was pleased with me and that I was also a fighter and I will come though no matter what happen to me. When the ambulance arrived along with a fast response car, when they arrived they started they asked my auntie if I had over dosed on medication the reaction was part of shock and not really(please remember this all from witness statement.)I was then taken to the ICU at Southmead hospital.

Everything else that happened I don’t remember until I woke up, meaning I don’t remember seeing the icu doctor and being rude about being able to get my licence back. Actually I haven’t really asked what my parents remember of me being in icu at south mead hospital, the only next part I remember is coming out of a beep sleep and waking up to see both my mum and dad to the left side of my bed. My mum and dad left to let me get some rest, I remember waking some time in the evening asking the male nurse that was looking after me what the time was and to also find out that I wasn’t at the BRI that I was at south mead. You may be thinking that its strange that I didn’t know where I was but at the time I didn’t, I’m only writing south mead first just to help understand what I was going thourgh.

The next day I was taken up to the ward where I had my stroke i was out by 12pm.

NUMBER 3

So it’s my 3rd seizure and this one I have been told all ready so I will try my best to keep it brief, like my first seizure I had number 3 at work but unlike number 1&2 I knew this that it might happen.

So I had managed to go 5 months with out having a seizure. But because of life issues my brain decided to reset it self( a bit like when you start a car engine.) So any way what do I remember, I was on a morning shift at work and every was going ok. Then around 9:30 I started to feel really strange, weren’t very bus so I out side to rest and try to get some feeling back in to my left arm. After about 1 minute I went back in to the kitchen to start work after I mentioned to my GM that I wasn’t feeling great.

So once this started to they told me to let them know if I started to feel strange/dizzy again, but I decided to try and push thourgh until the dizziness got to much and I decided to give in on my last ticket. Once I finished the last ticket I told my GM that I wasn’t feeling great so I was mad to go and sit by the bar in the café, I called my dad to try and get some advise as I felt like a small panic attack coming on. I tried to clam my self down and called 111 after I had spoken to my dad, I called 111 and mentioned to them that I had a stroke and two over seizure before and I also explained the symptoms. After I had told the person on the phone my symptoms they said they where going to call out an ambulance as they where unsure if I may be having another stroke, so I sat at the front of the café and waited for the ambulance to arrive.

(Time seem to pass Farley slowly)

Once I was in the ambulance with the paramedics they did the stander tests to check I wasn’t having another stroke. I call called my dad to let him know that I was on the way to a+e at the bri, but I for got to mention the reason why so he didn’t quick go to a+e. So I got to a+e and I went straight to get a CT scan to try and determine if I was having another stroke. once cleared I was taken to other part of the A+E department where it is 1 to 1 and I was told to let the nurse know if I had any new symptoms to let the nurse know.

The last thing I remember was I complained to complained to the A+E nurse that I was having really bad pins and needle’s in my arms and flashing lights in my eyes and that’s honestly the last thing I remember before I woke up in ICU IN in the BRI.

Once I had woken up a bit more the next day I can remember my mum and dad coming to see me and asking my dad about what happen the day before. My dad seem confused by my question, because while I was in the middle of my seizure I seemed to have forgotten everything that had happened a few days before I also had no memory of this. I just seem to go red and then I was slightly embarrassed by the whole thing( but apparently that’s normal to forget the most recent things.) I had to wait for a bed in the stroke ward at the BRI so I was in ICU for the day.

when I was moved to the stroke ward on level 5 of the BRI I was the only young person there, I found that I just had to deal with being the only young person there as it was bank holiday (this meant there where no doctors to discarded me on the Monday.) so over the weekend I felt very alone as the ward I was on wasn’t a very big ward and there much to, but like I said in a previous sentence I was the only young person in the ward so I couldn’t speak to anyone.

once I was discard on Tuesday it felt so nice to be my self and back in with people being busy again.

chapter 6 coming soon……..

made whole and new

Written by

hi I’m aidan and I had a stroke when I was 25 this is a personal stories of living with stroke

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