2018 has not been a great year so far for my husband.
Diagnosed with high blood pressure, a visit to A&E via ambulance one evening for kidney stones and then last Monday another A&E visit in an ambulance that turned out to be pretty serious.
Around 8.30pm last Monday my husband and I were sat on the sofa. I was reading a book, my husband watching TV. Nothing out of the ordinary.
We’d had a good day and were just starting to unwind after putting our girls to bed.
Suddenly my husband, Nigel, started to feel unwell. The symptoms came on very quickly.
Blurred vision, numbness in his left arm and leg.
We rang the out of hours GP who put us through to 999.
90 minutes later a paramedic arrived and called for an ambulance.
I watched helplessly as my husband was wheeled out of our house.
I called my step-daughter to come to ours. I couldn’t go with my husband because our six year olds twins were fast asleep, but at least if my step-daughter was there, if I needed to go and bring Nige home I could.
I didn’t want the girls waking up without Mummy and Daddy there as I didn’t want to worry them.
When Nige arrived at A&E he waited on the ambulance for three hours due to bed shortages.
When he went into resus, he had a CT scan on his brain which showed some damage to one side. This indicated that Nige had, had a stroke.
Stroke doctors visited and ordered more scans and tests.
It was confirmed, Nige, had, had a stroke. He was very lucky this time around that he recovered well from it, and the damage to his brain is minimal, but next time he may not be so lucky.
The most likely cause of the stroke was his high blood pressure. Of course, this has been a massive wake up call for Nige.
He knows he needs to change his lifestyle, quit smoking and get healthy.
He has five children who all love him dearly, me (his wife), and his mum too.
When you have children, you have an obligation to look after yourself. To make sure you keep yourself fit and healthy so that you can be in your children’s lives for as long as possible.
Sadly, I know all too well what it feels like to lose a parent when you’re young, and it’s something that I don’t want my children, or step-children to go through for a very, very long time.
Here’s hoping that the follow up appointments will put Nige on the right path in terms of controlling his blood pressure, and I must admit that Nige has made a huge effort to quit smoking. That’s after the girls and I binned his cigarettes. Stay healthy x
22 Comments
Jenny @thebrickcastle
April 10, 2018 at 10:02 am
I’ve actually just been diagnosed the same as him pre-stroke. It was a complete shock as up to 5 years ago I’ve always had fairly low blood pressure and eaten a fairly ideal diet (although maybe too much of it). Stress and smoking are trying to kill me too, plus we recently discovered it took most of my family, so genetics is against me. I visited the doctor for something else and she knew something wasn’t right. I’ve cut back smoking already and reading this I know I have to cut it out completely, and I haven’t really told anyone as I’m just beginning to get used to the idea myself.
So glad that he has had a minor stroke and seems to have escaped relatively damage-free. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen again and he doesn’t smoke again xx
Susan K Mann
April 10, 2018 at 11:44 am
It’s so difficult as you think it’ll never happen to you. I’m glad he’s ok and making the changes needed to improve zx
Chloe
April 13, 2018 at 6:36 am
Hi, sorry to read about the decent trip to hospital. I hope that the destroying of the cigarettes helps him trying to stop smoking #thatfridaylinky
Dave
April 13, 2018 at 6:40 am
It really is so important to look after yourself. Nige is such a good guy and I have no doubt with all the excellent family support he’s getting, he’ll be on the road to recovery and looking after himself in no time! #ThatFridayLinky
Jacqui Bester
April 13, 2018 at 8:11 am
Oh no, Emily! How awful to have to go through this experience. Especially when you were unsure as to what was wrong. Glad to hear Nige is on the mend and taking a look at keeping himself healthy! #thatfridaylinky
Enda Sheppard
April 13, 2018 at 8:35 am
What a worry for you all … best wishes to you all, and hopefully Nige will be as good as new — if not better — soon #ThatFridayLinky
relentlesslypurple
April 13, 2018 at 9:47 am
Hope Nige recovers well, so scary for you all! x #ThatFridayLinky
Nat – Awaybies
April 13, 2018 at 12:41 pm
So awful to hear that Nige had a stroke. Must have been terrifying for you. I hope the right combination of lifestyle changes and treatments will put him on a much better path, so he can live a happy and long life with his loving family!
I’m trying to get healthy too this year, I’ve just ordered a vegetable box so we can all eat more veggies! I will let you know how that goes 😀 #thatfridaylinky
Michele Morin
April 13, 2018 at 1:10 pm
So thankful along with you that this story had a happy ending. Praying along with you and Nigel for a complete recover and for strength and discipline to make life style changes that will prevent this from happening again!
Wrae
April 13, 2018 at 1:51 pm
I had a small stroke at the age of 30 and I’m a mom of three. It’s scary. Hope he’s able to recover well and remain smoke free. #thatfridaylinky
Tracy Albiero
April 13, 2018 at 2:24 pm
Yikes! What an ordeal. I am glad it was a stroke he could recover quickly from. #thatfridaylinky
Laura Dove
April 13, 2018 at 7:08 pm
I saw Niges post this week and couldn’t believe it. You must have been out of your mind Emily! I’m so glad he is recovering well, make sure he looks after himself! #thatfridaylinky
Clearissa Coward
April 13, 2018 at 9:00 pm
So sorry. I hope Nige recovers soon.
Kirsty
April 13, 2018 at 10:20 pm
Such scary stuff. We all think we are a little invincible until something tells us that we are not. I am glad that he is making a good recovery #thatfridaylinky
Dad
April 14, 2018 at 12:10 pm
That must have been terrifying. I hope the doctors manage to sort out Nige’s blood pressure and that he is on the way up, health wise. #ThatFridayLinky
jeremy@thirstydaddy
April 14, 2018 at 3:16 pm
scary stuff. Its terrible that he had to wait that long to be seen. One of the most important things about strokes is getting immediate treatment. Glad things weren’t more serious. #thatfridaylinky
Sarah | Digital Motherhood
April 15, 2018 at 9:19 pm
Scary, hope things are better now. Thank goodness for the NHS. We’ve also had a rubbish start to the year healthwise, lets hope it’s better going forward for us all! #ThatFridayLinky
Jo – Pickle and Poppet
April 15, 2018 at 10:12 pm
It must have been a really scary time for you all. Hopefully the doctors can get the blood pressure under control #ThatFridayLinky
Musings of a tired mummy…zzz…
April 17, 2018 at 10:22 pm
Terrible for you all but I hope something positive comes from this and you focus on the good times you have together and work together as a family to make healthy changes. #thatfridaylinky
Kate
April 19, 2018 at 5:55 pm
I cannot even imagine how stressful this was and still is and I wish our health service was better and faster too. I really do wish you all the best as a family moving forwards. You do seem very nice people who deserve a long, happy and healthy life. #ThatFridayLinky
Laura Chesmer
April 19, 2018 at 11:14 pm
I hope Nige is feeling much better now – what a wake up call! 🙁 I hope his health is better from now on, and you take care of yourself too. This must have been so stressful for you. #ThatFridayLinky
Out Of Depth Dad
April 20, 2018 at 10:19 am
This sounds like an awful experience, glad that Nige is on the mend. Thanks so much for sharing – it’s great that you’re bringing awareness to a healthy lifestyle. #ThatFridayLinky