Personal Health Journey: Angus Booth’s health scare
Pain before hospitalisation:
On the day that my pain began, a key noticeable difference within my life that made me realise something was not right was an intense migraine. This intense migraine at the back of my head was causing decreased judgment whilst driving,and was causing me pain. Another realisation in hindsight was that I was getting confused by simple things on multiple occasions. This pain was incredibly intense and felt as if my brain was under pressure. This intensely painful headache worsened, and the pain was powerful enough that I went to the hospital to get it seen to.
Diagnosis and the surgery required:
When I arrived at the hospital, and was seen to I was assessed by a triage nurse, my injury was assessed, and it wasn’t prioritised unfortunately during this triage stage. It wasn’t until I was seen to later, that it got diagnosed with ruptured tubing. This injury for me involved the tubing from the ventricular shunt, to the brain down towards the stomach, being ruptured in the collar bone region. But fortunately after surgery the severity of this health issue decreased. Thankfully, due to quickly noticing these symptoms and getting assistance promptly the physiotherapist assessed that no rehabilitation was necessary.
But unfortunately in a lot of ways, these symptoms that I recognised can continue without detection in people who have had a stroke previously, as they can dismiss it as being part of their new post stroke life. With the signs, symptoms and clues mistakenly being assumed incorrectly as just another unwanted post stroke gift. This is something that can occur to many stroke survivors, as it occurred to a friend of mine, who like me also had a stroke. And he dismissed the symptoms as just being part of the new post-stroke normal life, but unfortunately it ended up being cancer, and by the time it was realised it was too late. And unfortunately he passed 4 months, after he was diagnosed.
Unfortunately this example, and my own personal experience with a brain injury, are examples that we should take note of, and if things don’t feel quite right, and pain is incessant it is important to go to the doctors, hospital, and seek professional support. This pain post stroke shouldn’t be ignored, and should be taken seriously, as the consequences could be fatal.
Reference:
1)Surgery to remove fluid | Brain and spinal cord tumours | Cancer Research UK
Cancer Research, “Surgery to remove fluid in the brain”, 2023, date viewed 3/07/2023
2) Children’s health Queensland hospital and health service, Shunt Surgery, 2016, date viewed 4/07/2023