A teen who suffered a stroke in the middle of the night woke up to find herself “completely paralysed” on one side before her fast-acting boyfriend spotted a vital symptom.
Adi Lev, 19, woke up disorientated in the early hours of June 16 last year with her partner, Adam, who immediately clocked something wasn’t right.
When Adam asked the Fort William student who he was, Adi said her dad or sister, which sounded alarm bells. By the time the ambulance arrived, Adi had to be lifted out the house on a carry chair.
Adi, who was studying law at the University of Glasgow, said her life was “derailed” after the ordeal which forced her to spend three weeks in hospital after surgery to remove the large blood clot that caused her stroke.
View 4 ImagesAdi and boyfriend Adam(Image: Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland)
She said: “One side of my face was drooping and I wasn’t really speaking to Adam.
“He asked me who he was and I’m pretty sure I said dad or Lana – who is my sister. That’s when he knew something was really wrong. He went and woke my parents up and they asked me to smile and my stroke was really obvious.
“I was sad, lonely, and anxious. It was a mixture of knowing I’d had the stroke, having to defer university for a year, and having to build back up skills I had never really thought about before. Everything was tiring and exhausting.
“I remember crying a lot to my mum and dad. I was so lost.”
View 4 ImagesAdi Lev, who was 19 when she had her stroke in the early hours of the morning(Image: Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland)
Adi her surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow and started physio and speech therapy before returning home to her dad, Dagan, mum, Wendy, and two sisters, Lana and Maya.
Despite her speech and movement improving, Adi was struggling and didn’t feel ready to return to her studies.
That’s when she started “life-changing” one-to-one sessions with Vince McLaughlin from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland who helped her back into the lecture room through mental, physical and day-to-day tasks.
Adi said: “Life has completely changed for me since meeting Vince. I can’t say how much the charity has helped me.
View 4 ImagesAdi with her dad Dagan, mum Wendy, and sisters Lana and Maya(Image: Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland)
“I finally feel back to myself. I’ve started a reception job and work experience in a law firm.
“I’m returning to university in September. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Vince said: “Adi was determined from our first meeting. She’s come on leaps and bounds and is absolutely flying.
“We put her in contact with the disability adviser at her university. She’s now looking for accommodation and getting the right support in place. The stroke nurses are also back in contact to help her access financial support.
“Where she’s come from to where she is now is incredible.”
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