Tillicoultry woman raising awareness ahead of World Stroke Day

Elaine Scott has shared her story with the Advertiser ahead of World Stroke Day, due to take place on Tuesday, October 29.

The mother-of-one reflected on the day her stroke hit her in April, as she was doing housework.

Elaine’s stroke happened just two days before her 45th birthday, which she wanted to highlight to dispel the belief that strokes only happen to older people.

She said: “[I started to feel] dizzy, hot and clammy, my feet felt soft and squidgy.

“I didn’t want to worry my elderly mum and 16-year-old daughter, so I went upstairs to take stock of what was happening.

“I knew right away that my speech was off and instantly thought ‘I’m having a stroke’.

“I calmly went back downstairs and got a drink of squash and checked if I could lift my limbs. I could see my smile was off in the mirror and it wasn’t long before my daughter spotted something was wrong.

“She got my mum who says she will never forget my face that day. My daughter phoned my husband who came straight home and called on our neighbours who took me to Forth Valley Hospital.”

Elaine was still able to walk when she got to hospital, but her husband had to explain to the staff there what was happening.

FAMILY: Elaine lives with her husband and 16-year-old daughter and also her dog in Tillicoultry. (Image: Contributed)

She was seen quickly and began to be put through various tests on her heart to detect the cause of her symptoms.

“They hooked me up to an ECG,” she went on. “I was then escorted to the next corridor where I had a swallow test all while feeling the effects – my speech was coming and going and panic set in.

“I was put in an A&E bay and was there for the rest of the day, with a CT scan showing I’d perhaps had two strokes, one on either side on my brain.

“In the early hours, I was taken to an acute assessment ward with my husband trying to get through to me by texting on his phone.

“But I couldn’t get words out that way either.”

Elaine spent several days in the hospital, being moved around and being unable to be kept in an actual ward, due to space issues.

Her situation was very stressful for her, made worse by the constant noise around her from other patients.

Her 45th birthday came and went while she was in the hospital, with Elaine finding the funny side and managing to tell doctors her birthday was today when they asked for her personal information.

She continued: “My consultant said I’d had a small stroke and was wracking his brains about what might have caused it.

“Everyone was saying I was so young to have had a stroke, which didn’t help me.  He thought the damage to my right side wasn’t a stroke and could have been caused by some other trauma.

CAMPAIGNER: Elaine has joined the Clackmannanshire Stroke Support group, which was visited by Johnny Stewart recently. (Image: Contributed)

“I was tested for other things – they checked my neck and for a hole in my heart. I guess they were exploring every possibility.”

Elaine was allowed to go home shortly after, with the hospital suffering from a shortage of beds.

While she hailed the staff for their kindness, she felt GP surgeries could be doing more to ensure a smoother transition for stroke patients.

Upon her exit from the hospital, she learned about the Clackmannanshire Stroke Group, a collection of stroke survivors who aim to raise awareness and provide support to those in need.

While she had reservations about heading along, owing to her age, she has become a key member of the group and looks to do her bit to make people aware of the risks strokes pose.

“I found out about the stroke group from a leaflet I got in hospital,” she said. “It took me a long time to pluck up the courage to go as I thought I’d be an oddity at my age.

“I eventually went along with a friend who had a stroke a couple of years previously. By the end of the first meeting, I felt I could really contribute to making people aware that stroke happens to anyone at any time.

“I signed up as a member of the group and went home to look at the Stroke Association’s website, where I discovered I was not alone.

“I found the Different Strokes Facebook group, which is for younger stroke survivors, and that helped me enormously.”

Following her recovery, Elaine is hoping to raise awareness of strokes among younger people and in particular the role GP surgeries play in making sure people get the right treatment straight away.

She added: “I have to keep on top of my GP surgery where I don’t think they take stroke too seriously.

“My advice to stroke survivors is to find the Stroke Association online and find out as much as you can about local groups.

“Don’t be put off by people’s ideas about age. It’s rubbish to think strokes only happen to older people.

“I’m on a mission to change perceptions of stroke. How to spot the signs and the importance of getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked.

“Most of all, everyone’s stroke is different. You’re not alone. Together, we can support each other.”

The Clackmannanshire Stroke Support group meet at the Greenfield Old People’s Welfare Club in Alloa on the third Tuesday of every month between 3pm and 5pm.

The group was visited by Johnny Stewart, the lord lieutenant for Clackmannanshire, who heard Elaine’s story.