A WOMAN who was disabled by a stroke many years ago has spoken about her terrifying ordeal hoping to help raise awareness.

Jacqui James, from Caerphilly, was just 30 years old and working as a social worker in London when she had a life-changing stroke which left her in a wheelchair permanently.

She didn’t recognise the symptoms which led to her stroke which included intense headaches, spasms of the left side of her face and visual disturbances in one eye which led to her going home from work.

The next day she couldn’t move or get out of bed, and she believes she was suffering a mini stroke known as a transient ischaemic attack (TIA).

Ms James said: "I tried to stand up and fell over and I knew that something wasn't quite right. I crawled to the lounge and rang a friend who said she would come over straight away.”

By the time her friend arrived Ms James was feeling better and walking normally, but her friend drove her to A&E.

“I walked into A&E and that was the last time I ever walked normally,” added Ms James.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Tumour weighing nearly as much as a newborn baby removed from woman's womb

Man has had his motorhome destroyed and dog mess thrown at him by vandals

She spent 12 hours in A&E before doctors discovered a blood clot had travelled to her brain, causing the stoke.

Ms James lost the use of the right side of her body and while her speech recovered, she has never regained her full physical ability and now, aged 66, permanently uses a wheelchair.

She felt self-conscious and aware of her disability and said: “People treated me differently. My way of coping was to try and help other people with different disabilities. Helping others helped me.

“I’ve travelled the world as a stroke survivor, working with other disabled people to improve our human rights, but I live with my stroke every day. Something like this can change your life forever and I think it’s important that people understand the risk factors and are aware of the symptoms as much as possible.”

She praised the support available now, including mental health support and a higher focus on raising awareness of the risk factors and symptoms.

There are around 68,000 stroke survivors in Wales. To find out more about the risk factors and symptoms of strokes, visit bhf.org.uk