Science
‘Before my stroke I was so agile’: Pauline’s story shows the need for more research
Pauline Boye woke up at 4am and needed to go the bathroom. One problem, she couldn’t get out of bed. The 49-year-old had had a stroke in her sleep and her right side was paralysed. On World Stroke Day, Pauline’s story reminds us of the heartbreaking cost of stroke – and the pressing need for more research to prevent and treat it.
“After my stroke, most of my friends left me,” says Pauline, who spent four months in hospital recovering.
"They stopped involving me in what they were doing, they stopped calling. Before my stroke I was so agile.”
Pauline, a mother of three boys, was one of the 670 people who are hospitalised each day because of stroke.
Almost 40,000 people die from the condition every year and there are 1.2 million stroke survivors across the UK.
Many, like Pauline, are living with serious disabilities that stem from their stroke. Losing the ability to speak, memory or cognitive problems and physical disabilities are some of the possible flow-on effects.
“I can feel my right side but I can’t use it very much,” says Pauline.
She worked as a nurse before her stroke and wanted to continue in the job afterwards but was unable.
Her speech was also affected however she has taken measures to improve not only her vocal chords but her mobility.
“Joining the London Stroke Choir has helped me because when I had the stroke my mouth turned to one side with the right hand and the leg weakness. With the choir, and also the physio and speech therapist, it helps – I’m able to speak better now. The exercises we do at the choir helps too.”
Now 59, Pauline is showing no signs of slowing up.
On top of her regular gigs with the choir, she also works with an organisation to help other people after they’ve had a stroke and is currently performing in a play that draws attention to the human impact of stroke.
Better treatment begins with research
If you have a stroke caused by a blood clot, you may receive a drug to dissolve the clot and restore blood flow to your brain. These drugs, called thrombolytics, are currently only given up to 4.5 hours after your stroke. If you wake up with a stroke it can be difficult to work out how long ago the stroke happened.
Knowing that 20 per cent of stroke patients have their strokes while sleeping, we are funding a clinical study aimed at improving the lives of people who have a stroke while asleep.
The study is testing whether new medication and treatment can help people who have this type of stroke – known as a “wake up stroke” – as the treatment often differs from those who have strokes while awake.
The UK arm of the European-wide research is being led by Professor Thompson Robinson from the University of Leicester.
"Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide,” says Professor Robinson.
“There are reasons to expect that wake-up stroke patients will benefit from clot-busting therapy, with a recent trial showing benefit in patients selected by MRI scans.”
He adds that the new treatment “could have a major health benefit in reducing the likelihood of post-stroke death and disability for people who have suffered a wake-up stroke”.
Pauline echoes the call for more research while noting that strokes can also affect your mental health.
“I didn’t tell anyone [about the stroke], because I felt ashamed of myself. Why could I get a stroke, why me? I was so depressed. I was stuck in the house – and I couldn’t do anything, and I love cooking, and dancing and listening to fine music.”
After a while, though, with the love and support of her three sons – and new friends from the London Stroke Choir – Pauline began to dig herself out of her depression. You can watch the full video of Pauline and her friends in the stroke choir on YouTube.
“I started to see it’s not the end of my life, and I started making new friends. And later, old friends, some of them came back, some of them didn’t. And I moved on with my life. So I’m happy.”
---
People with a history of heart disease are twice as likely to suffer from a stroke. That’s why the BHF currently funds £18 million of research into preventing and treating stroke.