Woman on hen do thought she had been spiked but A&E trip gave horror diagnosis
A woman celebrating her friend's engagement saw a hen party descend into a nightmare after she thought she had been spiked - only to find she was suffering a stroke.
Joanna Whitelaw was out in Edinburgh when she felt her body become "suddenly numb" and her vision go blurry. Friends rushed her to get some fresh air before she was taken home. But when her vision still hadn't returned the following day and she was hit by pins and needles down the right side of her body, the 27-year-old took herself to A&E.
While CT scans drew a blank, an MRI soon revealed Joanna had suffered a stroke. Further tests showed the attack came on as a result of an undiagnosed hole in her heart, and doctors booked her in for surgery. Joanna, an administrator for private investors, described the news as a "huge shock".
"I was having the best night - playing games and have a good time with friends," she said of the hen do on May 6. "It was until I was in the club, and I didn't feel right and thought I'd been spiked. I’m an otherwise fit and healthy person – I got to the gym and run regularly."
Joanna Whitelaw with bride to-be Carrie (Joanna Whitelaw / SWNS)Joanna added: “The lights were flashing and thought it was playing tricks on my eyes. I told my friends and when we got outside, one whole side of my body felt numb. I couldn’t feel my bag on my shoulder and kept asking if it was there. I told my friend I was seeing two of her. We all worried I had been spiked and they got me home ASAP."
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The following morning, she got up, ''went about her day'' and even went shopping, but was forced to take herself to hospital the following day. “When I woke up, the feeling had come back in right side, so I thought I was fine and had slept it off," she said. “But my vision still wasn’t back to normal – I had no peripheral vision in my right eye. I still didn’t feel right in myself, so I went to A&E.”
During her three-day stay, Joanna underwent an MRI which found a blood clot in her brain, with findings confirming she had suffered a stroke on the left side of her brain. Joanna said there had been “no trigger signs or warning”, as she lived a healthy lifestyle exercising six times a week and not smoking.
Joanna was in hospital for around three weeks after the stroke (Joanna Whitelaw / SWNS)
Joanna in hospital on the day of her heart operation (Joanna Whitelaw / SWNS)She returned to hospital on May 29, 2023, for further scans, which was when doctors discovered the hole in her heart. She said: “It’s where the clot originated and travelled up to my brain. I most likely had it from birth, and it showed no symptoms until now.”
On June 9, 2023, Joanna went for an operation to close the hole and has since undergone one session of physiotherapy and is trying to regain her strength. She was due to travel abroad with the hens for a holiday but was unable to fly around the time of surgery.
Joanna said: “Doctors told me that between three and six months after a stroke is the hardest, and it will gradually get better. I still haven’t regained all of the feeling back. I’m having to re-learn things like going to the gym – feels out of body. I'm really lucky I had lots of support around me.
“I just want to make people aware of the symptoms. I thought it was being spiked and the next day, I still didn’t suspect a stroke. Hopefully it can help other people get medical help quickly.''
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