Kayleigh's story
When 31-year-old Kayleigh from Aberdare had a stroke, her life changed in an instant.
‘I got up to turn off my alarm and collapsed. My right side was paralysed, and I couldn’t speak. I tried to, but I couldn’t. My brain wouldn’t let me.’
Her partner Liam acted fast and called for help straight away. Within 20 minutes two ambulances and a response car arrived. Kayleigh was taken to hospital then transferred for an emergency thrombectomy to remove a 22mm clot from her brain.
Liam was told that Kayleigh might never walk or speak again.
Since then the road has been long and incredibly tough both physically and emotionally. ‘My life has changed dramatically,’ says Kayleigh. ‘I couldn’t drive and had to rely on Liam, his mum, and others to take me to physio and speech therapy. And I still can’t move my hand six months on.’
The Stroke Association provided invaluable support. ‘Deb, my Stroke Support Coordinator, helped me massively with my speech. I started going to groups where I can talk to others with communication problems like mine which helps a lot. I feel like I’ve really improved.’
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