Real Life Stories: “Having a Brain Haemorrhage has changed everything about my life. I am now currently stuck in a limbo state and constantly wondering when it will happen again.”

“My story begins on the 30th October 2023. I had spent my day of with a colleague out shopping and got a new wardrobe in which I was eager to get home and show them off in work in the next coming days. I had complained to my colleague during the day of a headache every time I coughed but believed this was just a head cold coming on…

“That evening the last thing I remembered was speaking to my brother on the phone.  The next thing I remember was lying on the bathroom floor unable to get up and it was the next morning.”

I managed to crawl to my bedroom and shout for help but to no avail. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness but every time I came around I shouted for help. This eventually grabbed the attention of my neighbour who explained she had called 999 and asked it was ok to smash through the back door for them to get to me (bless her). 

I then remembered I had an Alexa and called my mum but words weren’t really coming out to explain what happened as I didn’t know myself, I then drifted out again. The next thing I remember my bedroom was full of police, paramedics and my family. They gave me gas and air and did their best to get me down the stairs but the pain in my head and back was unbearable.

40 minutes had passed by now and I was loosing energy and strength and there was an urgency that I needed immediate help, they once again attempted to get me down the stairs and that’s the last thing I remembered. 

I woke up two days later in Salford Royal Hospital after being put into an induced coma. My family were there and told me not to move. I constantly asked who I was, where I was and what happened. My mum said I had a seizure on the stairs the morning the paramedics were there and I fell down the stairs (I suppose that was one way to get me down).

I was then rushed to Wigan hospital but continued to have seizures (a total around 4-5 of them) and they were unable to scan me. Unable to stabilise me and the continuous seizures (which I never had before) I was deemed too complexed and was put into a coma and taken to Salford Royal where I was in ICU. Once stable I was brought round and taken for scans and placed on Major Trauma Unit. I can’t remember what kind of scans they were as there were several but the scans showed I had a bleed on the left side of my brain and bruising and some swelling on the right side. 

I spent two and a half weeks in Salford Royal where I was injected daily with blood thinners and was taking as much as 15-20mg of warfarin daily to dissolve the clot still in my brain. I was put into a full body brace as I had fractured every vertebra in my back with the lower vertebra exploded resulting me unable to move for the majority of time in hospital. 

This is not the first time tragedy has struck my family. My father died of the same thing in 2008 but it was a brain stem haemorrhage so I have considered myself very lucky to be alive.

“Having a Brain Haemorrhage has changed everything about my life and it has left me vulnerable to the harsh realities of life.”

It is now April 2024 and I find myself in limbo. I have had to revoke my licence, I have had to put my house on the market, and find myself fighting to try and keep my job which I loved of supporting adults with learning disabilities, autism and ironically brain injuries. In essence I have lost the majority of my independence; my home, car, job and some of my memories, my lifestyle. I can no longer walk for more then twenty minutes and find myself constantly exhausted and weak physically and mentally. The whole ordeal has left me depressed and anxious and gained a lot of weight. The impact it has had on my family has been devastating. I rely on them for so much now from making dinner to driving me to my appointments and on the odd occasion I am allowed to my own home my mum is constantly texting me to make sure I am ok.  I am currently stuck in a limbo state and constantly wondering when it will happen again. 

However, I am so pleased to be able to share my story and hopefully if anyone else is also struggling to navigate life after a brain haemorrhage, just like I am, please know, you are not alone.”

Written by Brain Haemorrhage Survivor: Nick Hilton

If you have struggled in a similar way as Nick, please do not suffer alone, seek support from family, friends, medical professionals, counselors or therapists.