Imagine going to bed with a simple headache and waking up to a living nightmare, unable to speak or move properly. For 36-year-old mother Carly Mottram, this terrifying scenario became a shocking reality, teaching her a brutal lesson about how a stroke can strike anyone, at any time.
The dental nurse from Cheshire felt perfectly healthy before that fateful night. "I went to bed with a bit of a headache, nothing out of the ordinary," Carly recounts. "I woke up the next morning and couldn't speak. I tried to get out of bed and my left side had completely gone. I couldn't move my arm or my leg."
A Race Against Time
Rushed to the critical care unit at Royal Stoke University Hospital, scans revealed the horrifying truth: Carly had suffered a devastating brain haemorrhage. Surgeons delivered the grave news that they needed to perform an emergency procedure to remove part of her skull, relieving the immense pressure on her brain.
"The surgeons came to see me and said they needed to take a section of my skull away," she said. "They said if they didn't operate, I would die."
The Long Road to Recovery
What followed was a gruelling battle for survival and rehabilitation. Carly spent a month in the hospital's critical care unit, fighting to regain the basic functions that the stroke had stolen from her. The journey was physically and emotionally exhausting, not just for Carly but for her entire family, including her young son.
Her experience highlights the terrifyingly random nature of strokes and brain haemorrhages. "You just don't expect it to happen," she emphasises, a sentiment that echoes the shock of many who suffer similar health crises without warning.
A Vital Warning to Others
Now on the path to recovery, Carly is determined to turn her trauma into a powerful warning for others. Her mission is to raise awareness about the signs of a stroke, advocating for the vital FAST campaign, which helps people identify a stroke quickly:
- Face: Has their face fallen on one side?
- Arms: Can they raise both arms and keep them there?
- Speech: Is their speech slurred?
- Time: Time to call 999 immediately if you see any of these signs.
Carly's story is a stark reminder that a stroke does not discriminate by age or fitness. Her powerful message is one of resilience and the critical importance of listening to your body and acting fast when something is wrong.
