A former charity chief executive has suffered two strokes at the age of 35.
Phineas Harper has revealed it started with a numbness in their arm and hand.
The writer – who is non-binary – was at an exhibition opening when they lost control of their limb.
They phoned 111 and were blue lighted to hospital- where scans showed the horrifying news of a hole in their heart.
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Phineas – who was in charge of the Open City charity – revealed that they had suffered two strokes, despite only being 35.
Sharing the terrifying news with their followers and garnering over 39,000 likes, they hope that their experience lifts the lid on the hidden signs of a stroke, reports Need To Know.
And now, they are urging people to get themselves checked out even if limb numbness has been temporary.
As the damage could lead to a potentially life threatening situation.
Phineas, of Greenwich, south east London said on Sunday (9 Jun): “This week I had two strokes in my 30s.
“I realise it’s not cool to talk about medical stuff in British culture.
“But I am going to share this story anyway because what I have learned over the last few days in hospital could potentially save a life.
“On Thursday at an exhibition opening I suddenly lost control of my arm and hand.“I stumbled outside and called 111 who dispatched an ambulance.
“By the time the paramedics arrived I was regaining control but they took me to hospital, blue lights blazing, fearing a stroke.
“I was taken straight to the resuscitation wing where a stroke doctor and their team examined me.
“I was given medication, a CT scan and, though I now could partially move and feel my fingers, was told I would be kept overnight for constant monitoring and an MRI in the morning.
“Two days, two heart ultrasounds, an MRI and multiple blood tests later, the neurologists had figured it out.
“I have a hole in my heart just large enough to allow micro blood clots, normally filtered by the lungs, to move to the wrong side of my heart and up to my brain.
“The solution is to plug the hole using a clever ‘umbrella’ inserted into my heart via an arm vein.
“It sounded scary but the neurologist assured me it was a very safe and common procedure they could do ‘with their eyes closed’.
“Although I hope they keep them open to be honest.”
Shocked by their experience, Phineas has urged others to get checked out after learning that this is actually fairly common.
And, how limbs lacking control should be checked out, to avoid risk further down the line.
But, this isn’t the first time they’ve lost feeling in their limbs – as at just 18, they lost feeling in their arm but shrugged it off.
But, the lasting impact of just a five minute episode has left damage in the form of a scar on their brain- thought to be just that.
They continued: “The bombshell is that all this is fairly common.
“Lots of people have these small holes which can cause micro strokes but few realise.
“Since posting about all this, several people have told me about near-identical episodes of mysteriously losing limb control.
“The danger is that a lot of us don’t follow it up, especially if the loss of control was just brief.
“I myself lost movement in my arm for five minutes when I was 18 while living in Nigeria but shrugged it off.
“The MRI shows a scar in my brain which could have been that very incident.
“I am now out of hospital and on anticoagulant meds until they can do the heart opp.”
They concluded: “But the scoop is this: if you lose, or have in the past lost, control of a limb even for just a few minutes get it checked out!
“It could mean there’s a hole in your heart.”
Online, users were shocked at Phineas’ revelation and thanked them for sharing.
Malcolm said: “I I had a stroke in 2017, with the cause being a large hole in my heart.
“I now have a titanium umbrella in my heart and feel great.
“One to four people have a hole in their heart and someone has a stroke every five minutes in just the UK.”
Lorna added: “What a frightening time for you. Thank you for sharing your story.
“Wishing you all the very best for the future.”
“Glad you are getting sorted. Scary episode,” said Caroline.
Another user said: “I’m so glad you found the cause! This happened to me in my 30s and after so many tests I’ve lost count they still can’t find the cause.”
Andy added: “Thanks for sharing, never heard of this before now.”
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