Waterford mum - 'Doctors gave me 1% chance of survival after I had a stroke at 32'

A young single mother from Waterford had a sudden stroke in 2023 and doctors gave her a 1% chance of survival with high chances of surviving with locked-in syndrome.

Emma Ryan (34) from Butlerstown in Waterford has described the terrifying and life-changing ordeal in an exclusive interview.

Emma was just 32 years old when she went to bed on February 16, 2023, experiencing dizziness and awoke the next morning feeling nauseous. 

"I tried to get to the bathroom to get sick but when I got there I couldn't get sick so I lay back on the bathroom tiles and I could feel my left side going weak and my mouth started foaming up."

Emma tried to call an ambulance for herself but the responders couldn't understand what she was saying because of her slurred speech.

"A friend rang me, they had been here the night before, and they rang me because they texted me that morning and I never got back to them. So they rang me and they noticed my speech, that there was something wrong, so they came down from work and just checked to see was I okay and they rang the ambulance."

Emma was rushed to University Hospital Waterford and was then sent to Cork when they realised she was having a stroke.

"The doctors down in Cork told my parents that there was a 99% chance of death and that the 1% chance of survival would more than likely result in locked-in syndrome."

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Emma said that still to this day there is no explanation as to why she had the stroke.

"It was three of the four arteries in my neck just spontaneously dissected, causing clots in major parts of my brain. And
then there was one big clot in my brain stem, but even now I'm still getting tests and stuff done and there's still no cause as to why it happened."

While in surgery, Emma said that she had a vision of her late granduncle Paddy and her mum's friend Imelda, who had died years earlier, urging her not to give up. 

"When I was on the table in the middle of the surgery, I saw my mum's friend Imelda and my granduncle. So both of them obviously have passed on, but Paddy was sitting with his back to me and he wouldn't look at me. But Imelda kept telling
me, can I not just be stubborn one last time that there was nothing there for me (on the other side)."

Emma said that this terrifying ordeal has impacted her life greatly. She had to leave work during the time and has not been able to return because of the fatigue.

“When I came home from hospital, I had no job, no car and I couldn’t do any of the things that I used to be able to,” she said. 

“People don’t understand, they tell me I look great, but they don’t know what’s going on inside.

"It impacted my mental health because relationships and stuff were affected...there's the loss of self as well and I had to learn how to walk and everything again. I always had appointments, still do.

"I do speech therapy, I had physiotherapy. I was up in the National Rehab Hospital for three months. That was in the summer of 2023."

Emma said that since coming out of rehab the only real support she has had is from the Irish Heart Foundation and
the different activities that they provide for stroke survivors.

Emma is a single mother to a 13-year-old boy named Jack and she said the whole ordeal has been tough for them both.

"It's been tough, but I've been trying to keep things as normal as possible for him so that he hasn't had to miss out on anything.

"But it is very hard being a single parent and having to develop an acquired brain injury and then having to learn how to do all the things that you used to do again.

"I don't know how I used to be able to go out and work a full-time job, have Jack and bring him to all of his sports, get his homework done, everything. It's really made me look at my health and value."

Emma accessed many supports from the Irish Heart Foundation, including the Young Stroke Survivors’ Network, which connects her with others who can relate to her experience, The Irish Heart Foundation said.

The Nurse Support Line also helps her with any concerns. 

“Emma’s story highlights how important support is following a serious medical event like stroke,” said Helen Gaynor, the charity’s Head of Community Support Services.  

Alongside the stroke support services used by Emma, The Irish Heart Foundation has developed many new resources for stroke survivors, families and carers, including Step by Step through Stroke and the Main Signs of Stroke - all available on irishheart.ie.