Cheshire woman lucky to be alive following extremely rare stroke

A woman from Cheshire, who had an extremely rare type of blood clot that led to a stroke, was told by consultants she was extremely lucky to survive.

Lynsey Ashford, 42, who had her stroke in June this year, was eventually diagnosed with Cerebal Venous Sinus Thrombosis (CVST), a condition which in many cases can go undetected and causes multiple clots all over the brain. CVST is also extremely rare and accounts for less than 1% of total strokes worldwide.

Lynsey, now wants to spread more awareness of the specific condition and the fact stroke can happen to anyone, after it left her with extreme fatigue, right sided weakness and problems with her mental health.

Lynsey said: “I had a headache and sickness that just seemed to get worse. My husband and I just thought it was a bad bug, so I took painkillers and went to bed. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I just collapsed and my husband did the FAST test to check for the signs of a stroke, but I could do everything he asked me, so we ruled it out.”

“The next day, my husband and three children couldn’t wake me up and I was rushed to hospital. One of the consultants said it was very rare and one of the biggest strokes he’d ever seen.”

Doctors eventually discovered that Lynsey had CVST, and the clot which led to her stroke may have been building for months or even years. While the condition does have risk factors, Lynsey didn’t have any of them and it notoriously can go undetected.

Lynsey said: “When I was examined at hospital, the consultants showed me scans and my brain was covered in clots. There were only tiny spots where the blood was flowing freely, it was terrifying.”

“While I managed to avoid having surgery on my brain, the stroke has left me with horrible fatigue and weakness all over one side. Despite the fatigue, I have so much trouble sleeping, due to anxiety and racing thoughts, so my brain isn’t given the best chance to rest and recover.”

Tuesday 29 October is World Stroke Day and Lynsey, who is also a member of the Stroke Association support group in Crewe, wants to use the day to break the stigma that strokes only happen to older people.

Lynsey added: “These days I walk like I’m drunk because of my right-sided weakness, and my vision is still not great. Fatigue is such a problem too and I have no answers which causes so much anxiety.”

“It’s such a rare type of clot that caused the stroke, so my main fear is that other people and even doctors will miss it. There is still so much stigma around stroke. When I’ve been for check-ups, I’ve had people saying to me, ‘you’re not sick enough to be here’ just because I’m in my early 40s.”

“Stroke can happen to anyone and there are so many different types. If my experiences can help anyone get the treatment they need earlier, then I’m happy”

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For more information, please contact Ken Scott on 0115 7788429 or email ken.scott@stroke.org.uk