Niamh Foster was only 26 when she suffered a stroke while asleep in bed. Two years on, she is helping Coronation Street ensure its storyline featuring character Betsy Swain is as authentic as possible.
Stroke in her sleep
Speaking on ITV's This Morning on Tuesday, July 4, Niamh told hosts Paddy McGuinness and Josie Gibson: "I was lying in bed, and I think it was two or three o'clock in the morning roughly, as it was dark at the time, and I actually had my stroke in my sleep."
She added: "But I didn't realise I was having a stroke, I felt really uncomfortable and really fidgeting, really restless. I thought I had a cramp on my right hand side, which, now you know, my right hand was affected."
It wasn't until the morning that she realised something was wrong. "I got up and somehow managed to clamber to the toilet and saw the sort of drooped face. But even then, I didn't think stroke, at 26, that would be the last thing," she said.
Immediate hospital care
Her partner Reece rushed her to hospital, where tests confirmed she had experienced a stroke. Niamh admitted she didn't understand the severity at the time: "I remember not really realising the gravity of it because I wasn't really in the know. I didn't know about strokes; there was no stroke awareness. I thought strokes happened to older people."
She continued: "I wasn't in pain; I was very disoriented. I think my body went into fight or flight; it was surreal." Medical professionals later informed her she had a hole in her heart.
Supporting Coronation Street
Niamh now works for the Stroke Association, which collaborated with Coronation Street on the storyline. The soap sees teenager Betsy Swain, played by Sydney Martin, suffer two strokes after being strangled during a sexual encounter with her boyfriend Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne).
Niamh said: "So I work for the Stroke Association, which is a wonderful charity, and they got in touch with another girl, and I called Louise. It's been really amazing, they have really really listened." She has been working with scriptwriters, actors, and the makeup department to ensure authenticity.
Recognising stroke symptoms
Dr Zoe explained on the show: "It's one of the most common forms of a congenital heart defect, but that hole being there is the way that the blood clots, and then you're most likely to get them. But most people don't know they've got it."
According to NHS guidance, the FAST acronym helps recognise stroke signs: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties, and Time to call 999. A stroke is a medical emergency, and symptoms typically appear suddenly.
