There was a time when Paula Leask, from Elgin, thought she would never celebrate another Christmas after suffering a stroke when she was just 29.
One minute the mother-of-two was ceilidh dancing at a friend’s wedding.
The next, she was on the floor and being rushed to hospital.
When she woke, doctors told her they had no idea whether she would walk again.
Six years on and Mrs Leask is now helping other survivors in their recovery while treasuring every minute with her family.
‘I thought I was going to die’
At 29, Paula Leask had no warning she was at risk of suffering a stroke so young.
Medical studies have found the risk of strokes doubles each decade above 55 years old but does affect as many as 400 UK children every year.
After being whirled around the dancefloor at her friend’s wedding, she thought she was simply dizzy from the festivities.
However, quickly she realised it was not subsiding and she realised something was seriously wrong – moments later she fell to the ground and people rushed to her aid.
Mrs Leask said: “At the hospital, my husband William kissed me goodbye as the doctors and nurses took me away to treat me.
“I told William, ‘I love you,’ and I said tell our little boy, William, how much mummy loves him.
“I thought I was going to die. My husband did not know if this was the last time he would see me alive.
“When I woke up the next day, they told me I’d had a stroke. My right arm and leg weren’t working, and I couldn’t walk.
“My stroke affected my whole life. I had little hope for the future. My little boy was only two when I had my stroke. Not being able to pick him up and hug him broke my heart. It was devastating.
“Every day I asked the doctors if I would walk again, and they would say the same thing to me: ‘We don’t know.’
“I cried all the time. I felt guilty for surviving and felt so hopeless.”
‘Each day I have a grateful heart’
The devastating stroke diagnosis meant Mrs Leask and her husband had to delay plans to have a second child.
However, after an arduous recovery, her second child Erica is now three years old.
Today the mum-of-two devotes herself to helping other survivors as a community services coordinator for Moray, Huntly and Banff for charity Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland.
Her role involves supporting others while they recover at home as part of its hospital-to-home services.
And she has shared her own personal story as part of the charity’s Christmas campaign.
Mrs Leask said: “My stroke nurse Lyndsey helped me see that I could find my happy again.
“This was the lifeline I needed to help me move forward in my recovery. Christmas is a time to be thankful.
“Each day I have a grateful heart that I get to celebrate these special moments with my husband and children. There was a time when I could never have imagined I would be here to celebrate another Christmas with the people I love.
“The rehabilitation support I got was so important to my recovery. It really is the difference between just getting by and really living.
“As a stroke survivor I know how incredibly important that lifeline of support is.”
Donations can be made online to support Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland’s Christmas campaign HERE.