All Survivor Stories

My name is Valeriia. I’m a passionate linguist who has recently moved to Berlin. Just a short time ago I was unexpectedly diagnosed with a cerebellar stroke (ischemic stroke in the cerebellum), caused by a tear in one of the arteries in my neck.

I first started working in mental health at the age of 18 and then gradually climbed the ladder to working within psychiatric secure units across Scotland. I worked with a wide range of individuals - one of the most memorable experiences being the five years I worked for BIRT, now called Brainkind, as a rehabilitation support worker.

In April 2016 double vision and throbbing headaches forced me to visit an eye specialist. As a technical translator I was permanently working with two computer screens simultaneously. Perhaps I just needed new glasses. Unfortunately, I didn’t get away with it that easily.

My name is Walter. In November 2018 and at just age 45, I was diagnosed with a vertebral artery dissection and a stroke. Two weeks prior to this, I experienced painful headaches that over-the-counter painkillers couldn't relieve.

I am Katie, a 37-year-old mum of two.  

Almost two and a half years ago, just a week after my 35th birthday, I suffered a series of 3 mini strokes caused by a neck injury which led to my blood vessel bending and stopping the blood flow to my brain.

On Thanksgiving in 1992, Chris Bentley went to sleep and didn’t wake up for three weeks. An undetected cerebral arterial venous malformation (AVM) put massive pressure on his brain, leaving him in a coma. Thankfully, Chris recovered remarkably quickly.

Chris, 41, has now signed up for a new adventure… taking on a tough 200km cycling route for SameYou’s Ibiza Bike & Hike event this month. He says: “I’m hoping that participating in the Ibiza Bike & Hike event will help me break free from looking at my brain injury simply as a challenge to overcome and instead recognize it deep inside as a unique experience that has taught me a new way of living.”

James shouldn't even be alive, let alone be able to walk and talk, after an accident in a Paris hotel left his brain so crushed that doctors were forced to remove part of his skull and store it in his abdomen to keep the bone marrow healthy.

My name is Breanna, and I am pursuing my MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience and Human Neuroimaging at the University of Sheffield. In 2021, I experienced an ischemic pontine stroke, which completely transformed my life. 

In September 2019, I was a 33-year-old teacher in Canada. I noticed that I was having a difficult time understanding the students when the class was noisy. I thought my ears were clogged. I therefore went to an audiologist.