Mum, 43, learning to walk and talk again after cartwheeling nearly killed her

A mum who took ill after spending a day cartwheeling nearly died after missing vital symptoms. Susie Thompson thought she was having a and didn't seek medical help as she was "too busy".

But her symptoms were in fact signs that she was having a carotid stroke - which happens when the carotid artery is blocked or damaged. Doctors told her she injured the artery asa result of exercise - and she immediately realised cartwheeling was the cause.

The busy 43-year-old says she only realised it was a stroke when her sons, James, nine, George, seven, said they couldn’t understand her. The episode left the mum in hospital for a month and nearly two years later, she is still working to fully regain her speech and ability to walking.

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Now she is urging other people to learn the symptoms of a stroke in the hope they will be able to get medical help quickly. Susie from Leicester, said: “I was doing cartwheels at my sister’s the day before - I think that’s what caused my stroke.

"We used to be very into gymnastics - we spent all afternoon doing cartwheels in her lounge the day before. I was too busy to realise I was having a stroke - I’d just finished feeding my baby, and I thought I had a migraine.

"I thought I was too young to be having a stroke. I didn’t know anyone else my age who’d had one, it was quite unusual. But, mine was nearly fatal.”

Susie, who is now unemployed as a result of her disabilities, found her life changed on August 2, 2023. She woke up at 4am to breastfeed her now-one year old, Robin.

She said she hadn’t felt ill beforehand, and didn’t have the “warning signs” like numbness, weakness or a severe headache. The day before, she'd been with her sister, college teacher Katie Anderson, 41, practising cartwheels for fun.

While feeling “okay,” she says she can just remember is waking up after falling asleep on the floor. Her husband, electrician James, 50, asked her if she was okay - and she went back to bed, thinking a migraine caused her to blackout.

She said: “I got back into bed, and James said: ‘Okay, I’m off to work now.’ I thought I had a migraine - I certainly didn’t think I had a stroke.

"The boys came up to ask if they could have breakfast. In my head, I told them: ‘Yes’ - but they couldn’t understand what I was saying. Still thinking I had a migraine - James came home at 5pm - I was in a right state, and he phoned an ambulance.”

The mum was rushed to the Leicester Royal Infirmary, where a CT scan confirmed she’d suffered a carotid stroke. This was as a result of injuring the carotid artery in her neck, which she suspects was due to cartwheeling the day before.

A day later she was transferred to Nottingham City Hospital where she underwent two emergency surgeries - one to repair the artery, and another to remove a blood clot from her brain. The mother-of-three was moved to intensive care for two days, before being transferred to St. Luke’s hospital, Leicestershire, to the stroke rehabilitation ward.

Susie spent a month as an inpatient at St. Luke’s, and three months as an outpatient, as well as recovering at home. She said: "There was no prognosis - I got told to just recover as well as I could.

"When I had the surgery, I was very, very poorly - nearly dead. Now, after intensive rehabilitation and walking with sticks, I’m doing quite well for myself.”

Susie has regained the majority of her speech. She walks with a functional electrical stimulation (FES) cuff on her feet - which she says has helped her to get her independence back.

But she says her symptoms could have been less severe if she’d recognised her stroke earlier in the day. She added: “I can’t fault the care I’ve received - particularly from the Matt Hampson Foundation. But I was very poorly - and more women need to know the signs of stroke.”

Check for signs of stroke

The warns a stroke can happen suddenly and it is vital to know the sign to watch for. These may include:

• face weakness – one side of your face may droop (fall) and it might be hard to smile
• arm weakness – you may not be able to fully lift both arms and keep them there because of weakness or numbness in 1 arm
• speech problems – you may slur your words or sound confused

The easiest way to remember these symptoms is the word FAST. This stands for: face, arms, speech and time to call 999.