Credit: North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
A university student has opened up about having a stroke at just 23-years-old and believing it was just the ‘world’s worst hangover’.
Jameel Razak had visited a pub with friends and woke up with symptoms of a severe headache and sickness, the usual signs of a hangover.
It was only after the student tried to stand up that he realised this was not the case as he collapsed to the floor.
However, he remained confident that it was just a “little blip” and that he would wake up and be fine the following day and persuaded his parents to leave him be for the night and to not worry about him.
The next day, his symptoms had worsened, his right side of his body was numb, he struggled with his hand-eye coordination and he also had a ringing in his ear.
An ambulance was called for and Jameel was admitted to the stroke ward at the University Hospital of North Tees, where he received treatment on the ward for 17 days before having physical and cognitive therapy from home after being discharged.
On his time in the stroke ward at the University Hospital of North Tees, Jameel, says: “I remember when I first came to hospital and everyone on the ward was in their 60s and 70s. I remember feeling so lonely so every time a nurse came round I was chewing their ear off.
“In the end I was thinking ‘You know what, this hospital stay’s not that bad’. I was enjoying the conversations with nurses – it keeps you going.
“I will say to stroke survivors who are on ward 41 that you’re in good hands.”
A transoesophageal echocardiogram discovered that Jameel had a small hole in his heart which was responsible for his stroke. He has now underwent keyhole surgery to repair his heart, lowering his risk of another stroke.
Jameel is still ongoing with his recovery and suffers from some lasting effects of stroke, such as fatigue and cognitive impairment, but that doesn’t effect his positive attitude, he says: “Having a stroke has shown me what I’m made of. I didn’t think I could ever go through something like that and come out the other side a better person, a better version of myself.”
Jameel has also returned to university to finish his degree, and looks forward to “just live life.”
