Newlywed thought her post-honeymoon headache was JET LAG – but actually she’d had a stroke caused by her contraceptive pill
Now Sarah Revill-Dews, 27, from Nottingham, has had to learn to read and write again
A NEWLYWED revealed how she had to learn to read and write again after suffering a stroke at the age of just 27 - just DAYS after returning from her honeymoon.
Sarah Revill-Dews, from Nottingham, had just returned from her dream honeymoon in Sri Lanka and the Maldives when she suffered a painful headache in May 2017.
Initially putting her symptoms down to jet lag, Sarah, now 28, returned to work as a project manager.
But as colleagues excitedly asked her about the wedding and honeymoon, she could only say: "It was okay."
Sarah had lost the ability to communicate; she was unable to speak, read or write.
She said: "When I couldn’t speak properly I knew something was wrong. My colleagues called 111 and the first responder gave me an aspirin as he thought I’d had a stroke."
She continued: "However, when I got to hospital, they believed it was a migraine and I was discharged.
"Fortunately the first responder had booked me in with the stroke ward the next day but even when we went to see the consultant, they didn’t believe I’d had a stroke until an MRI proved it.
"No one seemed to think it could happen to a 27-year-old. It was a crushing moment to be told I’d had a stroke. My whole world just crashed around me."
She said it was "a process of elimination" and the only thing that doctors believed could have triggered it was the contraceptive pill she had been taking.
The Stroke Association warns that "although the risk of a stroke in young women is generally low, pregnancy and contraceptive pills are both significant stroke risk factors."
"I am very healthy," Sarah said. "I go to the gym every day."
She was unable to properly communicate with her colleagues how her honeymoon was, realising she was ill
She added: "It was a very difficult initial four months of recovery, but I have the most amazing husband and family who supported me, whether that was taking me to appointments, making me do lots of crosswords and Sudoku to work my brain or taking me to Thai Chi classes to work on my balance.
"At the time I felt quite isolated because I didn’t even think people of my age had strokes and I was very angry; wondering why me?
"After having every test under the sun and seeing various consultants, it appears that my stroke was caused by a combination of the contraceptive pill and the flight home."
She now wants to educate others to look out for the signs at a younger age - and is preparing to cycle 100 miles during the Prudential RideLondon to Surrey cycle, to raise vital funds for the Stroke Association. She will be joined by her father Robin Dews and her sister Anna Dews.
What is a stroke?
A stroke is a life-threatening brain attack, which occurs when the blood supply to part of your brain is cut off – without blood, the cells in your brain can be killed or suffer damage.
It can have different effects depending on where in the brain this damage occurs. It can change how you think and feel, and cause speech problems or a weakness on one side.
For some, the effects of a stroke can be relatively minor and will fade quickly, but others can be left with problems that leave them dependent on other people.
Around one in eight people who suffer a stroke die within 30 days, so it is vital to get medical assistance as soon as possible – the sooner somebody is treated, the more likely they are to
survive.
There are two main types of stroke. An ischaemic stroke is the most common, accounting for 85% of all cases, and is caused by a blockage cutting off the blood supply to the brain.
A haemorrhagic stroke is caused by bleeding in or around the brain, when a weakened blood vessel supplying the brain bursts.
The NHS accepts that the risk of having an ischaemic stroke is increased by the use of the .
Emma Evans, events manager at the , said: "For many stroke survivors, getting their life back on track after a stroke means overcoming life-changing disabilities and emotional trauma.
"But they can’t do this on their own. Every day people across the UK are regaining their independence with the support of the Stroke Association and others.
"We’re incredibly grateful to Sarah for taking on this gruelling challenge to help raise funds for people affected by stroke; she is a real inspiration and proof that there is life after stroke."
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