Survivor Stories

How it all started...Tik Tik Tik Tik Tik. "Guys, you hear that?" I asked.  

I was visiting a location in March 2021 on a weekend in NY state when I stopped at my very best friend from middle schools' apartment on my way home from work to meet her first son and have dinner. After a couple of hours, I started to experience the worst headache of my life. I was getting sweaty, and my vision was blurring.

On December 3, 2008, I had a catastrophic massive stroke. It was a consequence of the dissection of the carotid artery. It took me a decade to communicate again.

Two years ago, I was hit by a motorcycle when crossing the street in New York City. I sustained a brain bleed, concussion, and whiplash.

My name is Ronah Ankunda, aged 26 years and I come from Uganda. On June 1st, 2022 around 1:00am a sudden agonizing headache woke me up.

On 10th June 2020, I woke up in hospital following a surgery to remove a grade 1, non-cancerous brain tumour

This is a heart-wrenching story about Ashish Gupta, a normal 29 year old enthusiastic youth, living in Ranchi, a place in Jharkhand state of India. He did not know what he would go through in the near future and nobody had expected it.

My name is Len. I have survived two major brain injuries that required surgery.  Add to this several concussions.  I will focus on the two injuries. 

As a 6 years old, I was hit by a car while crossing the road. This forever changed my life. 34 years on, I am an English teacher, Arabic Interpreter & Translator and writer.

Many years of keen cycling concluded with a serious accident and Traumatic Brain Injury, August 2018. Unprepared, I went from enjoying a responsible job, to months in hospital and years of recovery.  

I’m a congenital arterial-venous hemorrhage stroke survivor from a rupture in 2016. The rupture knocked me out in my own home leaving me untreated for 20 hours before being found and rushed to the hospital.

12 years ago, at the age of 43, I very unexpectedly suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke. I was fit and healthy at the time, my consultant even remarked that I was the last person he expected to have a stroke.

I had just retired at the age of 58. I was looking forward to restoring our quirky Georgian house, with plans for a B&B. I had dreamt of this as our retirement project. Then “bang” the explosion.

Ryley had a stroke in January 2021, aged 9 years old, causing right sided weakness and speech difficulties.

I was 19 when I was t-boned in a little 1997 Mazda Miata by a full-size truck. At the hospital, I didn't understand what was going on.

In June 2019 I had a subarachnoid haemorrhage, due to a burst brain aneurysm. Optimism and determination were essential to my recovery.

In January 2019 I had a frontal craniotomy to remove a cyst which may have been causing several grand mal seizures. Little did I know this would present a whole new set of challenges.

At the age of 11, Axel survived my subarachnoid hemorrhage. Life hasn’t been too bad. I’m grateful for what I’ve been able to do, despite my limits.

At the age of 42, I had a brain haemorrhage and aphasia, which is a communication disorder. After the operation I couldn’t speak for two years. My social network fell apart.