Stroke
survivor Hilary Wehby from Jamaica shares
her experience of a life changing stroke and what stroke prevention means to her.
Before the
stroke did you have any idea that you were at any risk of stroke?
Before I
had my stroke, I knew very little about strokes and considered myself "a
healthy horse" I was usually the last in my family to catch any viruses
going around and had 3 children via natural child birth. In fact I had no known
medical issue and thought strokes primarily affected elderly persons.
When and
how did you realise that you were having a stroke?
One day I
returned home from my usual full/busy work day; my son Nicholas was thankfully
home from college in Florida for a spell and noticed my speech was slurred and
asked me: "why are you speaking like that Mum; he called his Dad and my
mother and thankfully lifted me to a vehicle with help and drove me straight to
the nearest hospital.
Can you
tell us a little about your life before stroke?
Before I
had the stroke I lived a very full and active life. As the mother of 3 children
(ages 25, 22 and 13 at the time and a wife married for 26 years to a very busy
husband, and very involved in a Christian Women's Ministry, working full time
as a senior new product development manager at a fast-paced food company; my
life was very full; it was not unusual for me to have to attend functions with
my husband at fairly short notice and I drove myself wherever I needed to go.
How has
life changed for you and the people around you since your stroke?
Life for me
has changed dramatically since I had my stroke: first I no longer work at my
previous employer where I had been for about 27 years; my life now largely
revolves around my therapy schedule and my family; I have not been able to
drive and am not sure I will in the foreseeable future and as such depend on
others to get around; my mobility and independence have steadily improved but I
still get help in some areas from my nurses or family members; I have to be on
medications several times per day still and walk with the aid of an AFO leg
splint and single point cane; I am now able to get out and about to most places
thankfully once I make proper arrangements and know how accessible places will
be
What steps
do you take now to prevent stroke? How are you working to reduce your specific
risks?
I had to
immediately stop taking birth control pills after my stroke, which I learnt the
very hard way that I should have discontinued from perhaps a decade earlier as staying
on them so long was the risk factor that led to my stroke; I also am routinely
on various medications and see my doctors periodically for check-ups.
What would you say to other people to make them take stroke prevention seriously?
Having a
stroke is preventable and I would recommend that everyone take stroke
prevention seriously; do regular medicals and control/eliminate risk factors because a stroke can change
your life; reduce your independence; impact every facet of your life; and there
are many stroke survivors with much more severe and debilitating consequences
than me and to my surprise even children and babies can get strokes.
My reason
for preventing strokes is to allow me to be the mother; wife; daughter and
professional person that I want to be without any constraints or restrictions.
