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Great to read it Julie, keep up the good work:thumbsup: Wow, This Morning would be great to get your message to a large audience - thinks that deserves another:thumbsup: Keep us posted:-D Sarah

That all sounds good Jules, don't foget to let us know when it's going to be in the paper. I'm glad Karen put a link to the Yorkshire Post as I'm not sure it gets distributed this far - even though I'm only a few miles from Yorkshire! Keep up the good work, giving it a higher profile can only be good news for us all. Does all this mean we will be seeing you on Calendar/Look North next?? Sarahx

Hi Tina, Nice to read your story and it's good that you are back at work and driving again. Both of these can still be quite tiring so take it steady. Alton Towers is a wonderful place and I bet you're quite glad you only went on the baby rides that day - having seen some of the rides, I don't think they would do anyone's head any good! I, too, am grateful to have come out the other side of a sah in good shape and have been saddened by reading the stories of those who have been less fortunate. It is amazing how far some have come on and they are an inspiration to us all. I hope the meds and counselling help you to improve even further. In the meantime I wish you well and say a big hello to your daughter who tried so hard with the water - bless her. Sarah.

Hi, Not sure what to call you - can't imagine surfer34 is your real name but forgive me if I'm wrong;-) I think there are a few members on here who suffered the same type of haemorrhage as you, but the majority appear to be aneursym related ones which does at least give us some knowledge as to why it happened. Either way it does shake you up a bit and most of us seem to leave hospital with little more knowledge than when we went in. Sorry I can't help you further, but there are at least a couple of members on here who are back riding their bikes following their bleeds so don't rule it out. Good luck in your recovery, Sarah

Karen, yeh, it is a small world!! Julie, I read another 2 chapters of your story (very) late last night and you should tell James that he has written it better than any "best seller". Just a shame you have all had to go through what you have over the past two years - but despite all, there was some humour in his blogs which was nice:-D Hope your dogs, (Brooke and Murphy?) are still keeping an eye on you;-) "I'm a celebrity", yes remember watching hours of it whilst in there - it did help pass the time quite well, although I thought it quite an expensive form of entertainment - I always seemed to be topping the damn thing up!! Think I have about 4 more chapters to read - so look forward to that. Bye for now, Sarah

Hi again Jules, Well, I've not had a kiss or cuddle from Mr. P, but one of my appointments fell on my birthday and he did shake my hand and wish me many happy returns which I thought was quite sweet! You say you were in there again a year ago, snap, so was I!! Last October I was in again for a few days having my second op (more coils put in the aneursym that had ruptured) - I think it would be too much of a coincidence to be in at the same time again!! In fact it was the first anniversary of that operation about a week ago (14th October) and it passed me by without me even realising it. I only remembered it today when I read your post, which obviously jogged my (dodgy) memory! Take care, Sarah

Hi Jules, Yes, those lifts, lol. I have been back a few times since then and they don't change - still takes a long time for one to arrive, then it's usually full and then when you do get in one, you have that nice droaning voice:roll: I have been trying to recall my time in there, but am struggling to even picture who was in the bed next to me and that's despite me being quite "with it" during the 12 days I was in. Don't know about you, but I still see Mr Patel on a fairly regular basis and am eternally grateful to him and his team for sorting me out. Anyway it's nice to have met you on here at least:-D Sarah

A very warm welcome Jules, I started reading James' account of your amazing journey earlier this evening, but found I couldn't stop reading it. He has written it so well - I have not quite finished reading it all, but I became a little emotional and covered in goose bumps at chapters 30/31 because I too was on N1/2 in the Hallamshire hospital, Sheffield on those same days, having had my brain operation on the 18th November, 2008, the day before you had yours. I realise that your situation was far more complex than my own, but to think we were on the same ward at the same time is quite amazing. I will read the rest of your story soon,but in the meantime I wish you well in your continued recovery. Sarah

Hi Tina, Well, I'm a bit gob-smacked too at the comment made by your Consultant -not what you would expect a consultant to come out with. I think scanning varies, depending on the sah, ie whether it was aneursym related or not and I believe coiled aneursyms are checked more frequently than clipped ones. I am scanned at least once a year at the moment as I have another aneursym that they are checking. I would imagine your consultant has enough good images of your brain to determine whether there is anything to warrant a further scan, so maybe you do just have to put your faith in him. Whether we need a scan or not, a lot of reassurance wouldn't go amiss - rather than comments like that. I hope all goes well with your return to work. Sarah

There would appear to be a strong link in your family Karen, which could indicate a genetic connection. My Grandad (my Mum's Dad) died from a subarachnoid heamorrhage - not immediately, but he never came out of hospital, (aged about 79 I think). My Mum only has one sister, who doesn't have any children, and my Dad doesn't have any brothers or sisters, so I have no cousins. I have two sisters and one brother who obviously aren't aware of any problems. so that basically leaves me with the fault! I think that's about as much as I can input - interesting, but not easy when family members are not scanned as routine and may live their entire lives with unruptured aneursyms that no one is aware of. Sarah

Hi Ash, Nice to hear from you again and very good to hear your Mum is doing ok, she has come a long way since you first started posting on here which is most encouraging. The fact that she is eating her meals well is a good step forward and hopefully other things including her speech, will continue to improve over time. I hope she will be happy at the rehab unit - just a shame it is a bit further away for you. Will await your next update in due course, Take Care, Sarah.

Well I certainly wish there was more awareness and cannot believe so many of us are misdiagnosed. I had rung 999 whilst the heamorrhage was happening and stated to the operator that I thought I was having a stroke - had the word heamorrhage crossed my mind I would have told her that was what I was having, as I could feel the blood escaping in my head but it was all in vain as the paramedic did not send me to hospital. To think that during that following week, I called the Doctor out to my house (something I had never done before) and visited him at his surgery 3 days later and called NHS Direct at 4am and saw an optician, I think it is quite shameful that no one gave me any diagnosis - let alone the correct one. I am proud to say that it was my parents, with no medical training whatsoever, that finally persuaded the Doctor to send me to hospital where I was finally diagnosed and operated on. It's certainly a scary experience, which takes a long time to come to terms with, but I am eternally grateful that I fell in the right 50% although it does make you wonder how many are not in this figure with us through mis-diagnosis. I think you have raised a very valid question Kelvin. Sarah

Hi Stuart, Just wishing you all the best for 26th - hope they have changed the pencil entry to pen and it will go ahead for you on that date. It is certainly such a relief to have it all over with. I would think tiredness may be the most noticeable thing afterwards, but sounds like you already have plans for that! Look forward to hearing from you again in due course. Sarah

Hi Sonia, Glad your recovery is going well. I hope this morning's solo trip on the bus went well - I do admire your determination to do these things - keep it up! Sarah

Hi and a very warm welcome to Behind the Gray. Sounds like quite a hair raising trip to finally get you to the hospital where they could carry out the procedure. I hope at some point you can make that Doctor who you saw on the Friday night aware of her incompetence - perhaps it would make her think twice in future about patient care:roll: The lack of information on leaving hospital tends to be quite common - I know I didn't receive anything and unfortunately I didn't come across this site for 14 months but I think you shoud find comfort in reading that you are not alone with your feelings, emotions etc and will be able to relate to many things on here that other survivors have experienced. I wish you well in your continued recovery. Sarah.

Hi Stuart, Welcome to BTG. Well it was fortunate you pursued that headache! I wish you all the best on Monday and yes, brain surgery is daunting, but I think all of us on here are glad of their expertise and are better for being on the other side of it. I think you will find this website very helpful and friendly so try and let us know how you get on. Sarah

Hi Tracy, You sound like me getting paranoid about everything and anything that doesn't appear quite normal. I don't suppose we would be like this now if we hadn't had the damn sah in the first place. I have had strange sensations in my legs since my sah but probably not quite how you have described it - it probably lasted about 6 months but I have not had it at all lately. I do however have a completely dead arm quite freqently which always happens while I am asleep and it occurs nearly every night. I am not very alert when it wakes me up, but it feels like the blood supply has been cut off and straigtening my arm and wiggling it about seems to bring it back to life. I did think I must be lying on it and trapping it somehow for this to happen, but it has happened whilst I have been asleep in an arm chair with my arms in front of me so I'm not sure if that is what is causing it. This never happened pre sah but it is beginning to concern me a little because of the frequency. When I saw the Neurologist earlier this week regarding the onset of migraine aura since sah, I was asked if I suffered any numbness at all, so I mentioned this - he made a written note of it but never said anything to me that made me feel I should be concerned. Anyway I think if it continues and you are concerned then ask your GP - a good GP would surely understand any concern we have after what we have been through. Sarah Just seen your last post - that sounds more like what I experienced.

Hi Zoe, Your worries and concerns unfortunately don't get any less for you - it must be so difficult to be in this situation. Hopefully though there will be more improvement in Richard's abilities over the next 6-8 weeks - assuming they can help him get motivated to take part in the activities etc during that time. I am not sure how they expect you to give 24 hour supervision - it's a lot to expect of you, perhaps you could start a list of everything that comes into your mind with regards to his care so that you don't forget to mention it all with the Social Worker on Friday. Personally, I would have thought that they ought to build up his return over a few weeks by increasing the days he is at home gradually - full weeks to start with might be quite a drain on your resources and your wellbeing needs taking into consideration too. Keep us updated - take care, Sarah

Hello Stacey, A warm welcome to you. I am so sorry to hear about your Dad - I hope you will find some comfort in joining this site where you will be amongst some very friendly people. You will no doubt be aware that the majority of us on here have suffered a sah and I think I speak for everyone when I say we know just how fortunate we all are to have come through this awful thing. I hope you are ok and don't hesitate to come on here if you need a chat. Take care, Sarah

Hi Gill, Don't despair with the way you are feeling - whilst the fatigue/tiredness is an unwelcome but common side effect it will improve, although it is a slow business. I worked an extra day this week (today) and boy did I know about it - I fell asleep after tea for nearly two hours!! Whilst you might not think you are doing much other than the school run once a day, you have had the worry and hassle regarding the driving, have a son that has just started school, written your story on here and that's on top of having a life threatening condition not so long ago, all these things will zap of lot of energy so be gentle on yourself... Know what you mean about the school agreements etc., - Anna has just produced a booklet of forms that I had to read and sign - 8 in total!! You will probably find your appointment in October will be helpful and that is slowly getting closer. Take Care, Sarah

Hi Jane, Pleased to meet you (on here at least). Good to hear that you have escaped any limb weakness - I think the emotional side hits us all at some point and it will be good if you can have some counseling reciprocated in due course. I wish you well in your continued recovery. Sarah

Hello Jo, A warm welcome to you - it's appears you have made excellent progress with everything since your stroke. It must have been hard for you along the way, but you have done really well to get where you are today - well done. Sarah

Hi Tracey, A warm welcome to you - three cheers for the world-wide web! It is only very recent since you were struck by this awful thing, but it sounds like you are doing really well and I hope that continues. I suppose a non aneurysm sah leaves a lot of unanswered questions but like others have said the after effects must be just the same. I wish you well in your recovery and hope that it hasn't delayed any future wedding plans:smile5: Sarah

Hi Kim Nice that you have posted your story for us all to see how you have done since your sah. Although a few post-sah symptoms still linger for you, I suppose the compensation has been to be there to see your sons grow up and do such things as white water rafting albeit I don't think you would catch me do it! Glad to hear you enjoyed the BBQ - are you the good photographer? Best wishes, Sarah

Hi Debbie, Glad you found this site as I am sure it will make you realise that how you are feeling is very common following a sah. I expect you left hospital. like many of us on here, without being given any information about how you might feel afterwards. Not knowing what to expect as pretty standard feelings following a sah can then make you worry unnecessarily. I think you will find from reading the stories of others on here that what you are experiencing, although not welcome, is very normal. The length of time to return to work varies so much between individuals - I returned after 5 months and I didn't have any physical disabilities or suffer with headaches or dizziness - if I had I doubt I would have returned that soon. Certainly don't rush back - there is no point in returning until you feel the time is right - going back too early could possibly set you back. I think it took me about 12-14 months to stop crying at the slightest thing - I'm sure a lot was to do with my family's lack of understanding and expecting me to carry on as before which I tried to do for a while but my brain/body couldn't keep up the pace so now instead of carrying on regardless, I opt for a snooze. Despite reporting in the Green Room today that I felt full of energy - by 3pm I was asleep on the sofa! I would suggest that you try and relax when possible and try not to worry too much. I think the fear of another bleed is also something that is feared by us all - I have even given up worrying about that on a daily basis now and that's despite having another unruptured aneurysm in my head. I think time helps with so many aspects - I wish you well in your recovery and don't forget to use this site as and when - it is a great place to feel you are not alone with your concerns. Sarah