"Stroke during pregnancy"

At 35 weeks pregnant, I unfortunately suffered a stroke, the cause of it being a cavernoma. I was rushed into GRI via ambulance, taken into recess where tests and a CT scan showed I had a bleed on the brain which then made the discovery of the cavernoma.

I was taken up to HDU as that was the only place there was a bed. The staff in the HDU ward I was in were nothing short of fantastic, nothing was too much hassle. After 4 days I was let home, only to suffer a similar headache 4 days later and be took back in. This time being treated under the obstetrics team as I had phoned maternity triage as I was unsure who to actually contact in the event of this happening. I was given another CT scan which showed a further slight build up of fluid around the brain and due to this kept in overnight for the consultants to devise a plan of what to do next regarding my pregnancy.

The next morning a team of midwives, consultants, and anaesthetists  came to see me, asked my opinion and how I was feeling about things and as a collective came to a quick decision that it was time to bring baby into the world in case anything had to happen with myself. Keeping me and my baby safe, it was decided that I would be under general anaesthetic for the procedure so that the team were in full control of what was happening.

I again cannot thank the obstetrics team enough, they were amazing and kept me and my partner up to date at every possible chance. From the minute I went back into hospital with the second headache to after delivering the baby and the aftercare. I was asleep for the birth of my daughter, but even being taken into theatre and whilst everyone got prepped I was constantly spoken to, keeping me at ease throughout. From what I noticed before drifting off and from what my partner has said, there was quite a team of doctors/baby doctors in the theatre and I really want to thank every one of them for keeping me safe and for the help of the safe arrival of my daughter. What a birth story she has!

A special shout out to all the staff in the HDU ward, especially student nurse Lewis (hoping I have his name right and I'm sure he was a student but apologies if I have it wrong) and also another nurse who I can't actually remember her name I'm so sorry! She had short dark hair and was quite small, made me an eye patch with some bandages. I know I haven't gave much detail but I really hope recognition is able to get back to these people as they really were fantastic.

Another special shout out and thanks to all the obstetrics team who dealt with me, I unfortunately can't remember everyone's names but the people I do remember are: 

Tracey (midwife), Mark (anaesthetist), Dr Hopper (consultant), Lorraine (Consultant),  Beth (midwife), Callum (Put in my artery line for surgery and also listened out to the song and lyrics my daughter was born to). There was also 2 midwives who looked after me when I was first taken up to the unit, 1 was a qualified midwife and 1 was still a student, cannot remember their names but they were both young. There was obviously a lot more people involved in my care who I genuinely cannot thank enough and I'm sorry I cant remember them/their names.

My memory is horrendous after the stroke and pregnancy but I really hope I've got these names correct or that the people I'm trying to describe realise who they are and that my thanks reaches them.