WHAT IT FEELS LIKE…
The morning started like any other Wednesday. My husband Chris had just gone to work, and I had the day off from my job as a police officer, so was at home with my son, James, then 14 months old. I was getting dressed and bent to put my shoe on. When I stood up, I felt faint and crashed to the floor.
James started crying when he saw me. I couldn’t get up. My left arm felt like it didn’t belong to me. When I picked it up with my right hand, it flopped back to the floor. I realised I was paralysed from my shoulder all the way down my left-hand side. I was exhausted, weak and so terrified I couldn’t even cry.