Stroke can be sudden, recovery can be long

'There needs to be more awareness and investment in all the services that help people with stroke.”

These are the words of a young stroke survivor, who had to attend five different hospitals and local therapy services as part of his ongoing recovery.

Darren Creaven (41) from Belclare, had a stroke in 2017, at just 34 years-old.

It was during a visit to his family in Clonmel, when Darren felt a sudden numbness in the left side of his body and collapsed on the floor.

He was found by his mother and taken to the local hospital, where he was provided with the available emergency care and then transferred to Cork University Hospital for treatment.

“Being found fast is very important when someone is having a stroke. The sooner you get help, the better the chances are of your survival and recovery,” said Darren.

According to the World Stroke Organisation stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. At least one in four adults over the age of 25 will have a stroke in their lifetime.

The risk of stroke increases significantly with age, however, over 60 per cent of strokes happen to people under the age of 70 and 16 per cent happen to those under the age of 50.

This does not mean that people in younger age groups are completely safe. Specialists believe that a person can have a stroke at any age, while one in seven strokes occurs in people aged between 15 and 49 years.

Several factors can increase the risk of stroke, the most common are excessive drinking and/or smoking, an unhealthy lifestyle, high blood pressure as well as certain heart conditions like Atrial Defibrillation.

Darren suffered a stroke due to a bleed in his brain also known as Hemorrhagic stroke, which may have been caused by high blood pressure and hypertension.

He was kept in an induced coma for nearly two months to stop the bleed and help his brain and body recover.

After waking up from the coma, Darren had complete loss of movement on his left side. He was then sent to University Hospital Galway for further treatment. Within the space of a year, Darren had been to five hospitals including Merlin Park Hospital and the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dunderry, Co Dublin.

It’s been seven years since Darren’s stroke and he has been recovering slowly but steadily. While he hasn't made a complete recovery he is happy with what he has achieved to date.

“I am doing very good recovery for someone who had been in the hospital for almost a year. I know some people don’t even recover to the extent that I have.”

Darren believes that the support services like physiotherapy and occupational therapy are easily available to people while in hospital, but once discharged people find them more difficult to access.

Read the full feature in the current edition of The Tuam Herald and don't miss Part Two in this Wednesday's paper