by Erin Griffiths

A woman had to learn to walk and talk again after a severe headache turned out to be a stroke.

Phoebe O’Shaughnessy, from Sevenoaks, suddenly started experiencing severe headaches when she was 21 which left her unable to eat.

When she started having absent seizures she was admitted to Maidstone Hospital in Hermitage Lane and was unable to speak.

A CT scan confirmed Phoebe had suffered a stroke and she spent four days being tube-fed and bedridden.

Tests later revealed the stroke had been caused by her autoimmune condition, ulcerative colitis.

SHe has now raised £1,385 for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, and brain injury association Headway. Donations can be made here.

Phoebe, who is an administrative assistant, said: “I was admitted to hospital and I was completely non-verbal, and experiencing absent seizures.

“When I woke up, I was unable to speak or walk, and the right side of my face had fallen."

Phoebe started having headaches four days before her stroke in April 2024.

She explained: “The onset of the headaches were sudden, and medicine wasn’t alleviating any pain.

"By the fourth day, I couldn’t keep any medicine down due to the pain, and asked my mum to take me to hospital.

"They took me in, carried out a cranial nerve exam, and weren’t worried about the headache, but took me in to monitor my colitis flare. I do not remember anything past the cranial nerve exam."

She was eventually told she had suffered from a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST ) – a rare form of stroke where a clot forms on the brain’s venous sinuses.

Phoebe spent 21 days in hospital and tests revealed the stroke had been caused by her ulcerative colitis.

She said: “I was in the hyper acute stroke unit at Maidstone originally, and then the acute stroke unit once I was able to walk and talk again."

She had previously been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which causes the gut to become swollen and ulcerated – in September 2019.

The condition left her suffering with frequent vomiting and she had just changed medication a week before her stroke.

Her combine oral contraceptive pill and corticosteroids were also considered as contributing factors to her stroke.

Phoebe said: “There probably should be more conversations about inflammatory bowel disease and clotting, and whether you want to take the risk of taking additional medication with side effects of clotting.”

Phoebe remains positive despite her traumatic experience and is advising those with inflammatory bowel diseases to “always advocate for yourself”.

She said: “Whilst doctors are very intelligent and educated people, they aren’t living in your body. If you think something is wrong, you need to be persistent.

“I cope with the pain and physical symptoms, not because I’m really strong or amazing or anything, but because I don’t have another choice.

“I think the worst part of IBD is how it can mess up your life plans. It’s hard to commit to anything because your situation can change at the drop of a hat."

Phoebe wants to see more research and resource for IBD.

The now 22-year-old added: "There is certainly room for improvement."

CEO of Crohn’s and Colitis UK, Marianne Radcliffe, said: “We know many people with Crohn’s or Colitis still face unmet needs in care, support, and understanding from the broader community and healthcare system.

“IBD services are overstretched and under-resourced, which is having a damaging impact on the mental and physical health of those living with the conditions.

“We need everyone to do their bit to confront the urgent issues facing IBD care."

Dr Paul Ames of Queen Mary University of London said: “Inflammatory bowel disease is characterised by an increased risk in clotting, the causes of which are poorly understood.”