A man has told how he suffered life-changing injuries due to a stroke he suffered just days after heading a ball during a football match.
Tom Hooper, from Brighton, was playing a friendly game of 7-a-side football last summer when the ball hit him on the head.
The 32-year-old went to hospital twice in the days following the incident after suffering speech and memory problems, but was sent home.
When the school’s former fitness trainer woke up with weakness on one side of his body 10 days after the event, he was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a stroke.
Hooper, who now suffers from ongoing speech difficulties, right side weakness and uses a cane to walk, is not sure he will be able to return to work and can no longer go out at night or play sports.
Brighton’s Tom Hooper was playing football last summer when the ball hit him on the head.
The 32-year-old was hospitalized twice in the days following the incident after suffering speech and memory problems, but was sent home.
Hooper was playing sevens football at Preston Park, Brighton, last August.
He said: ‘The ball passed to a central midfielder who went to shoot towards the goal. I headed the ball to clear it, but boom, the ball had been pumped hard.
‘I couldn’t remember anyone’s name. All I could say was left and right, yes and no. I sat down. I tried to find words but nothing came out.’
Hooper couldn’t use his phone, but he walked to his mother Carol’s house, which was nearby.
He said: ‘I went to Royal Sussex County Hospital for the first time. They sent me home. They told me to read up on what to do. Rest.’
According to the NHS, people should go to A&E for head injuries if they also have other symptoms, including vomiting, a change in behavior or memory problems.
Those who return home with a minor head injury should take care of themselves at home, applying an ice pack to reduce swelling, resting and taking pain relievers, health services recommend.
Mr Hooper said: “I returned the next day. I didn’t feel good at all. I knew something was wrong. I entered myself. I don’t know how I did it.
‘They sent me for a scan and nothing showed up. I said, “I think you need to take care of me.” They sent me home again.’
Mr. Hooper was staying with his mother to be cared for.
About a week later, he woke up with numbness on the right side of his body.
When he got out of bed and tried to walk, he fell.
His mother called 999 and Mr Hooper was rushed to Royal Sussex County Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a stroke which had left him unable to speak.
Strokes are a serious and life-threatening medical condition that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the brain is cut off.
Nearly nine in 10 cases are caused by a blood clot, while the rest are triggered when a weakened blood vessel supplying blood to the brain bursts.
In rare cases, head injuries can weaken blood vessels and cause clotting problems, which can lead to strokes, doctors say.
Survivors are often left with long-term problems caused by brain injury.
In the UK, 100,000 people suffer a stroke each year, while in the United States the figure is 800,000.
After six weeks of hospital treatment, Hooper received two months of rehabilitation at the Princess Royal in Haywards Heath.
Initially, Hooper could not speak at all, but his speech began to return after speech and language therapy (SLT) at the Princess Royal.
However, he still suffers from aphasia, when a person has difficulties with language or speech.
But his family now pay £380 a week for Hooper to receive TSL and physiotherapy privately.
Hooper, who previously worked as a strength and conditioning coach at Cardinal Newman School, said: “It has greatly affected my social life.”
‘I don’t go out at night. I’m missing the sport and the countryside. Without car.
‘Will I work again in the future? I don’t know. People say you can sit and provide customer service, but I can’t because of my speech. Aphasia has limited my words.
‘The right side of my body is weak. I can grab something but I can’t let go. I can type and move the mouse with my left hand.
‘I can walk inside my house. I can climb stairs, but I have to have a handrail on my left side. I use a cane when I walk and my foot drops.’
Mr Hooper has been supported by the Stroke Association’s stroke recovery service, which helps stroke survivors.
He said: ‘I speak to Marie every week. It’s nice to talk to someone who understands. It means a lot. I talk and she listens.’
Nick O’Donohue, the charity’s associate director for the south east, said: “Our research highlights that people still think that stroke is a disease that only affects older people.
‘It is crucial that we challenge this misconception and raise awareness that stroke also affects young adults.
‘After a stroke, life changes in an instant. Two-thirds of people who survive a stroke live with a disability.
“As a result, young stroke survivors are being robbed of important milestones and their planned futures, as they have to learn to adapt to their new life affected by stroke.”
