If you, or anyone you know, has ever had a hospital scan you’ll know just how worrying it is.
You’ll have lots of questions: Is there something seriously wrong with me? And how long will I need to wait for the results?
For Natalie Hood it was serious.
The 43-year-old was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary by ambulance for a CT scan two days after suffering a sudden severe headache.
“I was standing at home folding my washing and listening to the radio,” she said.
“Then it felt like someone had taken a baseball bat and smacked me over the back of the head with it.”
Natalie got an appointment that day with her doctor who checked her over and advised her to go home and take paracetamol.
But the radio presenter continued to feel unwell and struggled to get out of bed that weekend.
And within minutes of calling an out-of-hours doctor for advice, an ambulance was at her front door.
‘I was surrounded by doctors and nurses – I felt sheer panic’
Initially fearing Natalie had meningitis, medics explained that she needed to go hospital as soon as possible.
“Everything really moved quickly from then,” Natalie explains. “I was taken up to A&E and I was put through a CT scanner.
“I went in with only a nurse there but when I came out there were all these doctors and nurses around me.
“I thought ‘gosh what’s going on?’
“I felt sheer panic – it was a total shock.”
Natalie needed emergency surgery
Doctors explained that Natalie had suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage. It was caused by bleeding on the surface of the brain, which can be fatal.
After being lifted onto a stretcher, she was taken straight down to the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh arriving late at night.
Surgeons carried out a procedure to stem the bleeding the following day.
Natalie spent time recovering from the surgery in hospital. Little did she know at that point in September 2019 that the worst was not over yet.
Just weeks after going home, she fell ill again suffering a stroke, a condition she did not think she would recover from.
Thankfully, it happened while she was sitting in the waiting room of her local medical practice and the swift actions of a GP saved her.
“I was only two weeks out of hospital and I just didn’t feel great.
“A doctor asked me to stand up and as soon as I stood my whole left-hand side had gone.
“We didn’t think that I was going to make a comeback from that at all.”
‘I had a one in eight chance of surviving’
By this time the mum-of-three, who lives in Torry in Aberdeen, was attending regular hospital appointments for check-ups.
The stroke left her with six nerve palsy, a disorder that affects eye movement, and she now suffers sight loss.
It was a tiring time for Natalie who needed to take prescription medicine every few hours to help the blood flow more easily in her brain.
Alarms had to be set to remind her throughout the day and to wake her up to take her medicine during the night.
Then, on the 4th of December 2019, an MRI scan picked up that she had an aneurysm – a bulging blood vessel – on the left-hand side of her brain.
It was a serious condition which could lead to a fatal stroke if it ruptured.
Natalie was transferred to the same hospital in Edinburgh again for further surgery and this time had stents fitted in her brain.
“There was a one in eight chance of surviving, so I can’t tell you how lucky I’ve been and how much it’s changed my life,” she says.
Bleed on the brain: ‘I don’t think I’ve had a chance to process it all’
Natalie, who also works part-time as an accountant, was given the all-clear a few weeks ago after regular check-ups in hospital.
“Sometimes I really think to myself I need to get over this now,” she says. “But it’s such a huge thing to have happened.
“I don’t think I even had time to process this at all because this all happened then Covid hit.”
Placed on the shielding list, Natalie spent many months at home during the pandemic but was supported by friends at Station House Media Unit (shmu).
She studied a journalism course and also gained a radio qualification through the charity which helps residents in disadvantaged communities.
“It made life easier having a lovely friendship circle, ” she says. “Friends would phone, you always knew that someone was going to check in on you.”
How have her health battles changed her life?
Natalie, who is originally from Montrose, is determined to make as much as she can of her life after surviving life-threatening conditions.
She still suffers from tiredness and painful migraines on her worst days but she started studying photography and sound engineering at college last year.
“You don’t take life for granted quite so much when something like this happens,” she said.
“It shows how quickly our lives can be over and we don’t give any thought. I think it made me change my goals and I think that’s OK now.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but do any of us? I could just walk out of the door and die.
“But that’s the harsh reality of life.”
We’d like to share your story
Every Friday lunchtime we highlight an incredible story about recovery, overcoming illness and bravery.
Have you overcome a health challenge, lost weight or got fit and are now in a position to help others by talking about your journey?
We’d love to hear from you as we look to offer information, insight and inspiration through our content.
You can get in touch by emailing me at charlotte.thomson@ajl.co.uk
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