A Co Derry police woman who defied the odds to beat locked-in syndrome has been made an MBE for her campaigning work to reform stroke services in Northern Ireland.
She said: “It was April 6 2015 and I had a massive brainstem stroke. I was on life support in the Royal Victoria Hospital for two-and-a-half weeks and then I was in the acute stroke unit in the Royal for a further six weeks and I was an inpatient in Musgrave Park Hospital for seven months. She added: “The prognosis for locked-in syndrome is that you remain that way forever. Recovery is extremely rare. It was a terrifying prognosis for me. I had many emotions.”
“I would wheel myself in the electric wheelchair and go to the gym from nine to five every day, some days eight to six, and walk on the treadmill for maybe 30 seconds and take a break and go again. Many people thought I would never return to work but I was determined. Within 18 months of having a stroke that many thought I would never recover from, I returned to work.
She said: “I had had my stroke around midnight but didn’t receive surgery until around 10 hours later. I was angry because I knew there was something seriously wrong with me and I felt nobody had listened. I wanted mechanical thrombectomy to be available 24/7. She paid tribute to the work of charities such as the Stroke Association and Chest, Heart and Stroke for raising awareness of the need to improve services for stroke survivors.