Sarah Miles was 33 years old and six months postpartum when she got a headache in the middle of the night.
It was bad: it woke her up from a deep sleep and it felt like pins and needles were pressing down on every inch of her skull.
The young mother of four eventually fell asleep, but told FEMAIL she was terrified when she woke up a few hours later and found her peripheral vision had completely disappeared.
‘I don’t usually get headaches and if I do, I never take anything to relieve them. I just wait for the storm to pass,” she recalled.
But this was different. I didn’t feel good, I was in a lot more pain than usual. A thousand needles pricked my entire skull.
Sarah admitted she never realized she might have been having a stroke. At first she refused to believe it when doctors confirmed her condition.
Sarah Miles, 33, was six months postpartum when she felt a throbbing headache.
The young mother of four was just getting used to Victoria’s COVID lockdowns when her health took a turn for the worse.
‘My peripheral (vision) was empty. He was black; she couldn’t see anything. But I just dismissed it and thought it was because I was tired.
“I had a new baby and there were a lot of crazy things happening at the time.
“I rubbed my eyes because I thought they would go back to normal, but I went to my husband when that didn’t happen.
“I was working from home and started Googling things that said I might be having a stroke. I remember laughing about it, despite everything,” he said.
He had no symptoms other than a headache and difficulties with vision.
The doctor thought she might have had a migraine and referred her to an optometrist.
‘He did all the usual tests, which seemed fine, but everything changed after the visual field test.
“It doesn’t look good,” the doctor had told Sarah. “She’s probably having a stroke.”
She was surprised that her husband’s frantic Google searches that he was having a stroke turned out to be true.
Sarah was shocked to see that her husband’s frantic Google search turned out to be true: he had a blood clot that could have been fatal.
Sarah quickly arranged for her mother to care for her children and went to the hospital where she stayed for four nights, during which doctors carried out endless tests to investigate the cause of the clot.
On the final day, it was revealed that the clot formed in an artery in the back of his neck. It had traveled to his occipital lobe and caused vision loss.
At the time, Sarah had suffered from high blood pressure for years, a condition that exacerbated the clot.
“I was grateful I didn’t need surgery,” she said. ‘The doctors were confident that the medication would dissolve the clot… but those first few days were torture.
‘I had a six-month-old baby at home and three other children to worry about. My oldest son was barely 11 years old. He was terrifying! One moment he was fine and the next he was locked in the hospital having an MRI and CT scan.
‘I couldn’t have visitors, so I was alone. Because my vision was gone, it was difficult for me to move. I had to stay in bed all the time, I was only allowed to get up and go to the bathroom.’
While the mother of four had taken charge of most family events like birthdays and Christmas, she had to take a step back to avoid additional strain on her healing.
Sarah continued: ‘I was only 33 years old. She had small children and was a housewife. What would happen to them? In the future, was she going to be in the photo?
‘Will I ever be able to drive again? Will I regain my independence?
‘I had so many questions and no answers. Nothing has ever been so heartbreaking and desperate.
Sarah’s only experience with strokes was that they left people paralyzed and bedridden. She feared the same thing would happen to her.
“I was worried about not being able to feed myself, not being able to speak, continuing to have seizures until one of them killed me.”
At that time he did not receive much reassurance from the medical team, since no one wanted to give him false hope.
Extraordinary recovery
When Sarah came home from the hospital, she postponed her recovery and returned to being a full-time mother.
“There was a lot to figure out – I had to figure out how to get my kids to school because I couldn’t drive, we were in the middle of the second Victorian lockdown, there was a lot going on with the little ones.” .
‘It’s hard to put yourself first when you have four children who depend on you. But I think I was grateful for the work because I was still in denial.
“I couldn’t believe I was discharged and home; I was sure the doctor had missed something.” She would never be able to live life normally again, with the exception of a few pills to take every day.’
Sarah was on medication for a year and returned to the hospital every four months for an MRI.
Every headache and eye twitch worried her.
‘I was at risk of having another stroke because of the first one, so I was always nervous. I think I spent 12 months trying not to let that consume me. I was always worried.
‘But I tried to move on a little bit after the first year and tell myself what will happen, will happen. I need to live my life and deal with the loss.’
Sarah was on medication for a year and returned to the hospital every four months for an MRI.
“I never got all my peripheral vision back,” Sarah, now 37, shared. ‘The doctors told me that healing will occur within the first few weeks and that afterward everything will be more permanent.
‘I have a permanent blind spot on my right side, which is a challenge to navigate.
‘Even going to the supermarket is exhausting. I can’t see, so people kept coming up behind me and scaring me. I have to be very careful not to bump into people or trip, I have to turn my head completely to check for obstacles.
‘There are other lasting effects of stroke: tiredness, brain fog, sensory overload. Loud noises and big crowds turn me on, as do bright lights.’
Sarah’s children were a bright light in the midst of the darkness and helped in her recovery.
Sarah also suffers from cognitive fatigue due to brain fog and revealed that it takes a lot to remind herself that she wasn’t stupid for forgetting words and phrases.
‘I had lost myself in a way and had to relearn many things. I just didn’t have the same ability anymore while my brain was healing, which was hard to accept.’
While the mother of four had taken charge of most family events like birthdays and Christmas, she had to take a step back to avoid additional strain on her healing.
“It really showed me who really cared about me and who just wanted me to be convenient.”
However, Sarah’s children were a bright light in the midst of the darkness.
‘My children are very independent, we never bubble wrapped them growing up. They knew what had happened to me and did everything they could to help me while I recovered.
‘They knew my medication schedules and brought me the pills, they never caused problems and always listened because they wanted to make it easier for me.
“I am very grateful for my husband and children, they really helped me through such a difficult period in my life.”
Sarah now feels like she has a new lease on life.
Sarah now feels like she has a new lease on life.
She reevaluated everything in her life and strived to always give her best, starting with taking advantage of every opportunity that came her way.
Sarah always wanted to play soccer, but could never find the time, until she recovered from her stroke.
He left his comfort zone and joined a community team, played several games and won an award for his efforts.
“I probably wouldn’t be as fit and healthy as I am now, I wouldn’t be playing football if I hadn’t suffered a stroke at 33.
‘I take much better care of myself and I certainly don’t rule anything out. If something doesn’t look right to me, I’ll go check it out immediately.’