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At the age of six, Connor Halloran suffered a massive bleed on the brain and within seconds he was in agonising pain – unable to move or speak.
Connor was rushed to intensive care, where a CT scan revealed the devastating diagnosis.
He was then transferred to Southampton General Hospital, where he underwent a seven-hour operation and was placed into an induced coma.
After seven hours, Connor’s parents Sally and Ryan were finally reunited with him in intensive care. Speaking to ITV Meridian, Ryan said: “It was probably the scariest moment of all of our lives.
“He was banging his head with his hand, he was crying incessantly – he couldn’t speak.”
Connor was rushed to intensive care and underwent a seven-hour operation. Credit: ITV Meridian
Connor had suffered a stroke caused by what’s known as an AVM – a tangled collection of blood vessels that had burst. It can happen anywhere in the body, but because it was in his brain – the damage was severe.
For his family it was an agonising wait to see if he would recover.
The stroke had caused catastrophic damage, which left him unable to walk, talk or eat. He was having to be fed through a tube and moved in a hoist.
“The whole left side of his body was completely paralysed,” Connor’s mum Sally added.
“He couldn’t use his mouth, so he had to learn to draw back saliva and was drooling. He couldn’t move his left side.”
It was a gruelling road to recovery, involving a hospital stay of five months, missing school and life at home, and yet Connor never gave up and alway had a smile on his face.
Two years on and Connor is now able to walk, talk, kick a ball and speak openly about what happened.
However, he still faces many challenges as his left arm has no function.
His family worry about his future and are fundraising to try and provide the pioneering rehabilitation he needs.
Connor is not an isolated case – with scientists in Oxford revealing a 67% rise in strokes in the under 55s.
Kevin ran his own business and was physically very fit, but in a spllit second, everything was taken away from him.
High blood pressure and stress caused 39-year-old Kevin Redman to collapse at a local community event.
He suffered a massive stroke and then a huge bleed on the brain. It meant he needed part of his skull removed to ease the pressure.
He was placed into an induced coma and spent three months in hospital – learning how to walk and regain his independence.
Kevin found himself on an elderly care ward surrounded by people who were terribly ill which he says had a huge impact on his mental health.
‘My wife became my carer, which was washing, looking after me, getting me into bed, toileting, all of these things just changed very quickly for the both of us’
Kevin has learnt that his stroke was caused by very high blood pressure and stress.
He’s now calling for everyone to check their blood pressure and for checks to be mandatory.
Strokes can be caused by a number of factors. Credit: Supplied
What is causing this dramatic rise?
Scientists in Oxford say there are a number of factors which dramatically increase your risk of stroke.
These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, family history and a lack of exercise.
However scientists also found that certain professions make people more vulnerable, particularly if that person is more stressed.
What can we do to reduce our risk?
Doctors advise to make sure you know your blood pressure and if it is high, speak to your doctor immediately.
If you have two risk factors, that dramatically increases your risk. And so doctors are calling for better monitoring of the under 55s and say everyone should be aware that stroke to happen to anyone at any age.
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