Portrait: Nazia
My name is Nazia, and my brain injury story began at age 45 when I suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm (subarachnoid hemorrhage) and cerebral vasospasm.
Where Nazia’s story starts
As a senior manager at a global philanthropy organization, I travelled frequently between London, Asia, Europe and the USA.
My life was fast-paced and ever-changing.
The day everything changed
After returning from an overseas trip, a friend was staying with me. On the morning of 14 September 2017, I was getting ready for work when I experienced a violent headache. I moved to the sofa to relieve the pain, and four weeks later, I ‘surfaced’ in the hospital, realizing my right side was impaired and I had lost my speech and writing skills.
My friend had found me on the floor, called an ambulance and I was taken to a local hospital.
After a scan, the doctors confirmed I had suffered a ruptured aneurysm. I was transferred to another hospital where a surgical team inserted an endovascular coil.
Hospital days and months
My family and friends recall that after the surgery, I talked and worried about my work meetings and seemed generally fine. However, two days later, I suffered from vasospasm and was unconscious for weeks, with no memories of my treatment or what had happened.
The surgeons and doctors explained that the ruptured aneurysm was due to stress, anxiety and lifestyle choices.
Though my body recovered, I had severe aphasia affecting both speech and writing, and experienced mild paralysis.
The struggles of recovery
I felt like my former life was over. I had been preparing to move to Singapore when the aneurysm burst, and now my speech and future seemed lost forever. I was frustrated, angry and grieving. My sisters contacted various rehabilitation clinics and hospitals in London and Manchester, and in January 2018, I went to a private rehabilitation hospital for three months.
I realized that rehabilitation clinics for brain injury and stroke patients are scarce and was grateful for my employer who covered the treatment.
I gradually returned to normal life and received help from an amazing speech and language therapist after rehabilitation, regaining my writing and language skills.
Language and identity loss
I spoke two South Asian languages in addition to English. While my English fluency improved, composing sentences in other languages became difficult.
I felt I had lost a part of my cultural identity, as these languages gave me a sense of belonging and self-worth.
Returning to work and facing new challenges
After 15 months, the HR representative and my manager informed me that my position was being made redundant.
In addition to feeling disappointed, I was also angry because they deemed me inadequate to continue working with the organization. I fought this decision and returned to work at the beginning of 2022.
The journey from experiencing an aneurysm to resuming professional work took over four years. Although my speech has never fully returned to its previous level of fluency and my writing still occasionally lacks prepositions, returning to work was my saviour and primary purpose. Ironically, the organization recently went through a transition, and I was made redundant once again.
How my perspective has changed
Often, people ask me, ’Have you changed after your health situation?’ I usually respond with, ’Largely, no’. I have always been passionate about advocating for social justice issues, including disability and minority groups. I dislike small talk, hate presentations and am somewhat impatient.
What has changed is that I am now more optimistic and resilient. I never give up in some situations, and I am incredibly grateful for my family, friends, and the medical professionals who helped me throughout my recovery journey.
Finding purpose after brain injury
Nazia’s journey from experiencing a ruptured aneurysm to resuming professional work took over four years. While the road to recovery was challenging — navigating language loss, rehabilitation and workplace setbacks — returning to work became a vital part of her healing.