Debbie Elton

Hi Everyone Just had my first check up at Addenbrookes - 3 months post op following SAH on 7th October. I went armed with a list of questions and am pleased to say got a big tick next to every question. After being told initially that i was banned from driving for 6 months i have been told today that i can now apply for my licence back Also am allowed to start a gradual return to work !!! Excellent as i am climbing the walls at home every day and i am also allowed to fly. Me and the friend i was in Turkey with at the time of my SAH are now planning our return trip to Turkey for June of this year. I have been discharged from Addenbrookes which seems a bit soon but am not sorry as it takes over two hours to get there from my house. All in all a fantastic result today, i feel i am able to start looking forward to the rest of my life now - a lot sooner than i had anticipated. Hope everyone is well and keeping warm in this dreadful weather. Take care everyone. Debbie.xxx

Hi and thank you to everyone for the very warm welcome. I have been reading some of the treads on here and have been very relieved to see that everything i am going through is entirely normal. I think the hardest thing has been the acceptance that i now have to rely on other people when i have previously been fiercely independent. I am banned from driving at present and live in a very rural area so am having to rely on other people to go anywhere. I have 2 children aged 19 and 17 who have been amazing but having alway been the carer, it has been difficult to sit back and allow the children to care for me. Also the fact that everyone says how well i look and indeed i have recovered very well physically, i am suffering psychologically and am no longer the person i was before my SAH. The Doctor thinks i have post traumatic stress which is apparently a common thing after an SAH - has anyone else had this please?

Hi, my name is Debbie and i'm 39 years old. I had an SAH on 7th October 2009 while on holiday in Turkey. I was in a club with a friend and was walking back towards our table when i felt what i can only describe as a smack on the back of the head. I started sweating and couldn't move my neck or feel my back. My friend and i left the club and i have no memory of what happened next although my friend says i did manage to walk back to our hotel. The next thing i recall is a Doctor being in the room and giving me some tablets and an injection, he thought my drink had been spiked an my neck had gone into spasm. The next day i still couldn't move my neck and was being very sick but thought what the Doctor said made sense and so the following day we flew home as planned. My sister picked me up from the airport and took me straight to our local A&E department. I was originally told it was a migraine and sent home, the same happened the following day and it wasn't until i presented for the 3rd time that a scan was done and i was told i had had an SAH. I was taken straight to Addenbrookes where i had the aneurysm clipped and was discharged 6 days later. Having read a few of the threads on here it is a relief to know that i am not alone.