Simon Shrouder Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Before I start, can I just say what a wonderful bunch of positive people you are - truly inspirational. I guess we all know just how lucky we are to be still seeing the sunshine - or the rain! Here's my potted story for your perusal. I was doing an experiment involving concentration at work on Friday 28th January. Mid-way through I felt a light popping sensation in the back of my head. I stopped doing the experiment instinctively, but thought nothing more about it. Four hours later, while at home, I rushed downstairs to answer the phone, had a normal phone conversation, put the phone down - and my head exploded. Instant pressure and pain, instant stiff neck - no idea what was causing it. I did check my blood pressure which had shot up. I then got my daughter to run me to A&E. Didn't want to worry the family so walked in alone. The pain got worse and I thought I wasn't going to be speaking to anyone again. They put me in a cubicle and I stayed there from 5pmjust before 11pm. They then said, did I want to stay in or go home and come back if it got worse. I chose to go home. 0545 the next Monday after a terrible night, I went back to A&E. This time they kept me in till 0945 and then offering me painkillers - sent me home. No choice this time! Struggled through Sunday, but despite feeling bad on Monday, drove to work. Nearly fell over walking to the photocopier. Went to Occupational Health. They said go to A&E or go to your GP. Not surprisingly chose GP. She was brilliant. Spotted the problem immediately and referred me back to the hospital. They then kept me in a waiting room from 5pm Monday till 0045hrs Tuesday - putting me on a ward bed twice and asking me to give it up for someone who needed it more. I finally got on a ward bed in the early hours and had a CT scan mid morning. As soon as the Walton Neurological Centre checked the results the attitude of my local hospital changed dramatically. I was told to lie flat, not move and taken by ambulance to Walton that afternoon. The Walton Centre was absolutley brilliant from beginning to end - everyone in there was a star. I cannot thank them enough. I had the coiling op on the Thursday and all went well. I then had a gradual recovey with two and a half months off work and I am now in the middle of a phased return to full time. I am a very lucky boy indeed. I still get very tired, and emotional, and still get site-specific pain in the head when I do too much - but without the coiling I would probably not be here. Also I have just found out that I have Critical Illness Cover and am wondering if I can claim against. My problem is I am not sure what constitutes 'permanent neurological damage'...all thoughts welcome and keep smiling everyone!! Love to you all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hi Simon Warm welcome to the site. Wow you had a rotten time getting them to listen to you, & big Wow at getting back to work phased I know but so quick.... tiredness & emotional is all very common, others on here have claimed their Critical Illness Cover you can only but try, not sure tho with you back at work.... Glad you've found us tho.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Shrouder Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hi SimonWarm welcome to the site. Wow you had a rotten time getting them to listen to you, & big Wow at getting back to work phased I know but so quick.... tiredness & emotional is all very common, others on here have claimed their Critical Illness Cover you can only but try, not sure tho with you back at work.... Glad you've found us tho.... Thanks Louise! You can only do your best - and with redundancies at work in the current climate I needed to be part of the picture!! Looking at all the threads what I can really empathise with is the difficulty in assessing complicated environments - like supermarkets - or busy meetings - you just feel you want to run somewhere quiet - I knew I should have got the remote Scottish croft a little earlier!! I hope you are doing ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louise Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Yep you can only but do your best no harm in looking into it tho. yeh! I hate shopping now, though I do it I really dont like it at all, before the SAH that was not me I loved to shop.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz D Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hi simon Welcome to BTG and I hope you find all the help you need. You've made a good recovery and well done on getting back to work so soon. But do take care and try and get as much rest as you can. Keeping up the fluids should help with some of the headaches as dehydration can cause them. There ar some people on here who have made a claim on their insurance and hopefully they'll be able to give you some information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyolly Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Also I have just found out that I have Critical Illness Cover and am wondering if I can claim against. My problem is I am not sure what constitutes 'permanent neurological damage'...all thoughts welcome and keep smiling everyone!! Love to you all! Hello and good luck with that claim. I have the same cover and filed a claim, got nowhere fast. Like every other insurance, the devil is in the detail. The word "Permanent" is their get out clause, how do you prove anything is permanent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaH Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hello and welcome to BTG Thank god you were eventually diagnosed correctly but what a nightmare for you to be in pain all that time:frown: Look forward to 'chatting' with you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mace Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Welcome Simon, and although it's lovely to meet you I'm sorry you need to be joining us all here at a BTG! Your treatment sounds awful pre-diagnosis - you are indeed a lucky boy to be with us. Re. the critical illness cover, your damage is indeed permanent so I would go for it. After all, the coils aren't temporary are they? Good luck, and drink lots as everyone will tell you. Mace x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kempse Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hi Simon, Nice to meet you and a warm welcome to BTG:-D You sound very positive and upbeat so soon after the event - well done. You would expect going to A&E in the first instant, they might have been more diligent in their efforts - I had a similar experience having rung the emergency services whilst having the bleed, but they left me at home:roll: So I agree, we are extremely lucky to still be here to see the sun and yes the rain! Sorry, can't help you on the insurance front, I only had accident cover and I doubt they would class this under accidents. I wish you all the best in your continued recovery. Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winter Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Welcome Simon! Good for you for coming to BTG! There ARE so many great people here. Tons of information and help! A real life-line. Glad you're still with us!!! I am always shocked by mis-dianoses/neglect on medical staff's part. Seems it happens all too often! So happy you were finally taken where you got expert help! I'm in the US, so no help regarding your coverage - but def give it a go! Take advantage of any help you may be entitled to! Good luck with your phased work return! Wishing you well and hope your recovery continues without any hiccups! Look forward to chatting with you more. Hopefully you'll join us in the Green Room at some point! Do take care of yourself!!! Hugs, Carolyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Shrouder Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 Hi simonWelcome to BTG and I hope you find all the help you need. You've made a good recovery and well done on getting back to work so soon. But do take care and try and get as much rest as you can. Keeping up the fluids should help with some of the headaches as dehydration can cause them. There ar some people on here who have made a claim on their insurance and hopefully they'll be able to give you some information. Thank you Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandi K Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Hi Simon! Welcome to BTG! Fantastic that you are back to work! Go easy and listen to your brain. If you start to feel weird and get fuzzy or double vision pull back. Good luck with your recovery! I'm glad they finally started paying attention to you in A&E!! Sandi K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonia Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Hi To You, So glad you found us. Try and keep positive.You are doing really well. Long may it continue. Take it day to day. Rest when your body tells you. Keep drinking the water. Take care mate. Have a good weekend. Love Sonia xxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janevo Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Hi Simon. I'm not far from you and was also treated at Walton and echo your praise for them. I was fortunate that I was in North Wales when my SAH happened so I was sent to Wrexham Hosp and they recognised straight away what had happened and transfered me to Walton within hours. I think we may have met at the road to recovery course held recently in liverpool. Good luck with your claim and hope to speak soon. Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB-R Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 :-DWelcome to the site Simon, When i went into a&e they told me and my husband that it was a migrane even though i had lost my speech at the time and had no feeling in my legs!! Only that my husband pushed them that they sent me for a CT scan and boy did they change attiude when i came out of the scan:roll: I often wonder if i was back home in North Wales if they would have picked it up or sent me home. My local hosptial was Wrexham, as i born there and lived there. So from your experience Jan they would have!! Makes me proud to be Welsh:lol: But i must say i had great care here in Western Australia. Charlies is one of the top Neruo hosptial in Australia, so very lucky. I hope your recovery keeps going well , drink plenty helps with the funny heads, and rest well:-D Take care Rhiann x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracy Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Hi Simon Welcome Thank god you eventually got scanned, cant believe you went on so long. Your find lots of help on this site. Its like a second family to me. Hope to hear from you soon Traci S xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelBel Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Hi Simon, Welcome to the site Glad you found us. Wow, you are making a great recovery and back to work too. Well done. I hope your recovery continues well for you, Take care Kel x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina60 Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Hi, Welcome to the group. I had my SAH last July, but only made a claim for the critical illness cover a few weeks ago. Two reasons for this - the doctors never called my SAH a stroke, i only found out after joining this site. When I mentioned this to my consultant he said that SAH wasn't a stroke!! Second reason was my employers never told me I could claim even though t;-)hey knew what had happened. Anyway, I heard back from the Insurers this week and they are going to pay - I'm just waiting for the money to come through. So I would advise you to make a claim - the worse that could happen is they'll say no! Take care, Tina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skippy Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Hi Simon Welcome to the site and to the family. Glad that you found us. You'll get loads of support from people on here - there's also a wealth of advice and experience too. I'm five years in in August and can honestly say that this site has made the road to recovery a lot smoother than the bumpy ride it was before. Looking forward to speaking more - take care of you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Shrouder Posted May 15, 2011 Author Share Posted May 15, 2011 Just a note to say thanks for all the messages of welcome and for being so positive. Been flagging this weekend - literally, laying flags at the side of the house. Didn't rush it though and it certainly gives you a very real feeling of tiredness - much purer than I used to get before the SAH. Seeing the Chief Exec of Southport Hospital on Tuesday to discuss better triaging processes. Fingers crossed they can improve their act for the next poor soul who passed through their doors with an explosive headache and a stiff neck! Sorry been a while replying to the thread - forgot the log-in details already! Night night everyone - and do sleep well. I dream a lot more now - quite enjoy some of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lin-lin Posted May 15, 2011 Share Posted May 15, 2011 Been flagging this weekend - literally, laying flags at the side of the house. Haha!!! (I love a play on words!) Welcome to BTG. You will find a lot of support here. Look forward to chatting soon. Lynne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nessie Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 *waves* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jess Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 Hi Simon welcome to btg look forward to chatting sometime. Jess.xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnamarie Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 welcome to BTG simon !! take care donna x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayKay Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Welcome and thank you for the kind words in your first post (above) - it's true, people on here are so lovely and welcoming and positive Look forward to "chatting" more in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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