A young mum suffered a stroke on Christmas Day while sitting at the table to eat her dinner. Casey Singleton's vision went blurry and she felt like she was going to fall off of her chair - but she had no idea what was happening to her.
The 22 year old realised how serious the situation was only a few days later when she went to a physio session and was instructed to see her doctor straight away. Days before her 22nd birthday Casey had suffered another stroke, and initially put her symptoms down to this.
On the evening of November 20, Casey was feeling tired and tried to go upstairs so she could go to sleep. But every time she tried to climb up a step on the stairs she fell back.
She eventually lay on the floor downstairs, while her partner Jake, 25 - who was already upstairs with their kids - thought she'd fallen asleep on the sofa. It wasn't until the following morning he found her 'staring into space' and not moving, He rang for the emergency services immediately.
Casey, from Blackpool, exclusively told LancsLive: "I thought everything had only happened over the timeframe of an hour, but in reality, it was from 11pm to 9am the next day. In the morning, I thought I was talking normally and telling Jack to go to work."
"I need a lot of help, so it will really help if Jack gets driving." Casey is seen by physiotherapists, speech therapists and other healthcare professionals all the time, but she says it's their presence she doesn't like, claiming it's proof that she needs them to get better.
She doesn't remember much of what happened over the following four days, but remembers she was moved from Blackpool Victoria Hospital to Royal Preston Hospital. Most shockingly, she was told she was recovering from a major stroke.
Casey and Jake were told that stroke victims need to be operated on within four hours of the condition occurring, or it could be fatal for the patient. It meant that the surgeons would not operate on her because too much time had passed.
Casey's family is trying to raise much-needed funds to help them through the coming months. You can contribute here.
Jake said: "Casey was in Preston hospital for the next three days, they were checking for the pressure on her brain - seeing if she got any worse basically."
"The only thing I remember was the ambulance back to Blackpool Vic and I thought everything was OK," Casey added. "I felt happy, but that was the only feeling I could feel.
"I only had one feeling, my others were ruined." Once the couple had returned home, their attention was put on Casey's recuperation, but also on looking after their two young children, Tommy, one and George, three.
Casey continued: "My two boys need their mum, I'm fighting for them. I can't hold Tommy anymore though.
"I've got no feeling in my right arm and I get scared of holding him. His birthday was on December 10 too, whilst I was going through this."
Not only has Casey had to focus on recovering from her first stroke in November, but she was also hit with a second one on Christmas Day - but he had no idea it was happening. She said that three days before, on December 22, her vision started to blur, but as they had not been told about symptoms to look out for, the couple initially put it down to the aftermath of the first stroke.
"I was sat on the table on Christmas Day and I felt like I was falling off my chair," Casey said. "I was losing my balance and going weak and blurry.
"I see my physio every week and I sat with them a few days later and they just went 'woah woah, you need to go to the hospital', I didn't know." Then on December 28, Casey was told that an MRI scan confirmed she had experienced a second stroke three days prior.
Now, with the left side of her brain being affected, Casey has no feeling in the right side of her body and struggles to stand. She has to be in a wheelchair for long distances, only permitted to leave her bed for the toilet.
Casey continued: "I put 100% of my weight onto my left leg and it needs to be 50/50. I just struggle, if I stand up, I fall back down."
The Doctors have no idea why Casey had a stroke at such a young age, with the mum stating she was perfectly healthy before it happened. She also says she now has to take four medications per day, before she was on none.
Another big issue the couple face is mobility, with Casey being unable to drive and Jack having not yet started his driving lessons. The home with no real way of getting around.
Jack has also had to quit his job working in a pharmacy in Blackpool, in order to become a carer to Casey. Casey said: "I need to go to my appointments and there's no one to drive. I get help from family, but we have to do it around them and Jack's always here with me.
"I need a lot of help, so it will really help if Jack gets driving." Casey is seen by physiotherapists, speech therapists and other healthcare professionals all the time, but she says it's their presence she doesn't like, claiming it's proof that she needs them to get better.
"I don't like being poorly," Casey continued. "I'm in these four walls all the time, I don't go outside. I can't go to the park because we've got the kids.
Casey said: "The only thing I remember was the ambulance back to Blackpool Vic and I thought everything was OK. I felt happy, but that was the only feeling I could feel.
"I only had one feeling, my others were ruined." Once the couple had returned home, their attention was put on Casey's recuperation, but also on looking after their two young children, Tommy, one and George, three.
Casey added: "My two boys need their mum, I'm fighting for them. I can't hold Tommy anymore though. I've got no feeling in my right arm and I get scared of holding him. His birthday was on December 10 too, whilst I was going through this."
Not only has Casey had to focus on recovering from her first stroke in November, but she was also hit with a second one on Christmas Day - but he had no idea it was happening. She said that three days before, on December 22, her vision started to blur, but as they had not been told about symptoms to look out for, the couple initially put it down to the aftermath of the first stroke.
"I was sat on the table on Christmas Day and I felt like I was falling off my chair," Casey said. "I was losing my balance and going weak and blurry.
"I see my physio every week and I sat with them a few days later and they just went 'woah woah, you need to go to the hospital', I didn't know." Then on December 28, Casey was told that an MRI scan confirmed she had experienced a second stroke three days prior.
Now, with the left side of her brain being affected, Casey has no feeling in the right side of her body and struggles to stand. She has to be in a wheelchair for long distances, only permitted to leave her bed for the toilet.
Casey continued: "I put 100% of my weight onto my left leg and it needs to be 50/50. I just struggle, if I stand up, I fall back down."
The Doctors have no idea why Casey had a stroke at such a young age, with the mum stating she was perfectly healthy before it happened. She also says she now has to take four medications per day, before she was on none.
Another big issue the couple face is mobility, with Casey being unable to drive and Jack having not yet started his driving lessons. The home with no real way of getting around.
Jack has also had to quit his job working in a pharmacy in Blackpool, in order to become a carer to Casey. Casey said: "I need to go to my appointments and there's no one to drive. I get help from family, but we have to do it around them and Jack's always here with me.
