Student Amber Sunner had suffered two strokes by the age of 15. She tells how she began rebuilding her life...

"Having a stroke can be crushing; your body goes into shutdown and you become very disorientated.

"You often can't gather your thoughts or form sentences and the pain is blinding.

"I’m now 18, and studying at the University of Kent, but I had my first stroke when I was 12 and it was a shock, as I had always been healthy.

"I woke up in the night with a excruciating headache, I tried to get up out of bed to tell my parents I was feeling unwell, but I couldn’t move.

"A stroke can have many effects on a person, young or old.

"One of them is loss of movement in your arms and legs, another is loss of speech.

"No mater how hard I tried my legs and arms wouldn't co-operate with my brain.

"I thought it was a dream at first but the pain was very real so I tried calling out for my mum but no words came out.

"I had periodically lost my ability to talk so I screamed.

"I thought it was a dream at first but the pain was very real so I tried calling out for my mum but no words came out" - Amber Sunner

"I was rushed to the hospital after my dad heard me and treated with incredible speed.

"My recovery was very quick, I regained my much of my movement and my ability to talk.

"I was then back on track with my life and saw the stroke as a little wobble rather than a defining event.

"I was 15 when I suffered the second one, which was a lot worse.

"The first time it affected the right part of my brain which was 'lucky' in my eyes because the right doesn't control your speech or reasoning capabilities.

"But the left does, and my second was on this side. It happened similarly to the first, but the effects were much more damaging.
"I lost my ability to talk and write as I was right-handed.

"I was put through countless hours of speech therapy over three years which helped.

"My writing got more legible after again and I spent countless hours of practice on it but it was tiring.

"I grew up in Leicester and my school was very supportive and I left with three Bs in my A-levels.

"Both attacks happened in the summer, so they were shocked when I returned in September.

"I still find it hard to talk to new people, fearing they will not understand me or my story.

"Journalism is something I had wanted to do since I was little. I am now a first year student living in Gillingham and studying the subject.

"If I’m one thing, I am determined, and that applies to getting into the industry.

"The strokes taught me a lot. I have a new-found appreciation for life and how fragile it can be.

"I still find it hard to talk to new people, fearing they will not understand me or my story" - Amber Sunner

"I will never let any health condition define me - I will let my work do the talking for me.

"I must also thank my father, family and friends, for their love and support.

"My mother cared for me until she passed away when I was 14, she was always persistent with the doctors.

"The care at Leicester Royal Infirmary was second to none and without it I do not know where I would be today.

"If you are finding it difficult to cope with your health, physically or mentally, know you are not alone. Reach out to somebody.

"Do not let anything hold you back, especially not your health.

"If certain tasks are difficult find different ways to do the things you want to do.

"Think of what you have achieved and what you’ve got to look forward to."

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