A healthy 21-year-old paramedic who dreamed of being a doctor was left paralyzed after suffering a stroke that started as a seemingly harmless headache.
Tina Holt, from Queensland, Australia, was returning home from brunch with a friend one morning in 2016 when she suddenly got a headache.
But minutes later, Holt noticed that his body and brain weren’t communicating and he couldn’t swipe the screen of his phone to unlock it.
‘My friend, also a paramedic, noticed something was wrong. She asked me to smile. I couldn’t. “What seemed unthinkable to two paramedics was actually happening: I was having a stroke,” he told Stroke Foundation.
He tried to get up and take only two steps before collapsing again.
Unable to speak or move, Ms Holt vomited, but despite being conscious her body was unresponsive.
Her friend immediately called an ambulance and when the paramedics arrived, despite her friend explaining that she had not taken any drugs, they gave her a provisional diagnosis of a drug overdose.
However, on the way to the hospital, Mrs Holt lost consciousness and her condition worsened.
Tina Holt, from Queensland, Australia, had returned home from having lunch with a good friend when she suddenly felt a severe headache and sat up.

Ms Holt was 21 years old at the time of her stroke on January 31, 2016. She spent seven months in hospital and the next nine years in recovery.
When a CT scan revealed a brain bleed, she was rushed by helicopter to the ICU in Brisbane.
His family was told he might not survive and that if he did, there would likely be a lasting impact.
Holt spent the next five days unconscious, the next 10 in the ICU, and the next seven months in the hospital, where he underwent a series of life-saving surgeries and procedures.
One procedure involved installing a cerebrospinal fluid drain to relieve pressure on his brain. However, the bleeding in the brainstem was too extensive for surgery.
For more than three months, Ms. Holt depended on a feeding tube to survive and underwent several surgeries, including a procedure to destroy part of the brain that helps control tremors, facial muscle and nerve transfers, and multiple procedures. in his left eye.
The stroke left her paralyzed on one side, unable to speak, eat or even move without assistance. She was constantly fatigued and developed a rare tumor on the right side of her face.
“Tasks like drinking water became incredibly challenging and I had to relearn how to move, build strength and regain balance,” she said.
But the once active and fit young woman admitted she was emotionally facing another battle.

The stroke left her paralyzed on one side, unable to speak, eat or even move without assistance. She was constantly fatigued and developed a rare tumor on the right side of her face.

Mrs. Holt confessed that her rehabilitation is a lifelong process and what she thought would take two years has now taken nine. Although she is now wheelchair-bound, Mrs Holt has pushed herself through intense rehabilitation including gym training, swimming and cycling.
“My physical limitations were in stark contrast to the person I used to be,” he said.
“I dreamed of being a doctor after my time as a paramedic, but my stroke changed the course of my future.”
Holt said his rehabilitation is a lifelong process and what he thought would take two years has now taken nine.
Although he is now in a wheelchair, he has pushed himself through intense rehabilitation including gym training, and enjoys swimming and cycling.
Speaking to her followers on social media, Ms Holt, who passes @paramedicopatient On Instagram, he explained that he didn’t have many signs or symptoms, other than the headache that came on about five minutes before the stroke.
“I’ve been lucky to survive without cognitive deficits, just physical ones, but what I love to do is inspire other people, share their story and also educate other people about stroke, its signs and symptoms,” he said in a video.
“I also want to challenge preconceptions about stroke that it only happens to older people or people who are not physically fit,” he added.

Other telltale signs of an impending stroke, equally common, often go unnoticed. These include sudden numbness on one side of the body, sudden vertigo, and difficulty swallowing.

Stroke symptoms are commonly remembered by this four-letter acronym, FAST. Patients who suffer a stroke may often have their face drooping to one side, have difficulty raising both arms and slur their speech, while time is of the essence as immediate treatment for a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or a Minor stroke can substantially reduce the risk of having a stroke. much deadlier stroke
“Strokes can happen at any age, and mine hit me completely out of the blue.”
Ms Holt’s story comes at a time when the UK is seeing a significant increase in strokes among young people.
A recent analysis of NHS data revealed that strokes among men under 39 have increased by almost a quarter over the past two decades.
Life-threatening attacks on women of the same age have increased by one percent.
A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, killing brain cells. The damage can lead to long-term disability and affect the way people think and feel.
The most common cause is fatty deposits or a blood clot that blocks the arteries that supply the brain, known as an ischemic stroke.
This happens due to cardiovascular disease, when blood vessels become narrowed or blocked over time by plaques.
They are composed of cholesterol, calcium and other substances that accumulate on the walls of the arteries in a process known as atherosclerosis.
The other type of stroke, called a hemorrhagic stroke, occurs when a blood vessel bursts in the brain and begins leaking its contents into the organ.
Experts aren’t quite sure what’s behind the increase among young people, but high blood pressure, an unhealthy diet, excessive alcohol consumption and physical inactivity can increase the risk of stroke.
Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the UK and a leading cause of disability.
They affect more than 100,000 Britons a year (one every five minutes) and claim 38,000 lives.
The number of people aged 50 to 59 suffering from the potentially fatal disease has increased by 55 percent in the last 20 years, official data shows.