Natasha suffered left thalamic infarct stroke on 27th October 2021 and was fortunate enough to receive the new clot busting drug, which allowed her to regain mobility on her right side but lost the ability to join all her motor skills together - walking, talking, turning, moving her arms and her balance were all effected. Natasha is on a 14-week physio programme and is making significant progress.
Natasha suffered a small dip in her progress after being diagnosed with hyperkinetic movement disorder which causes her body to jerk and fix itself in certain positions, thankfully this can be helped by medication until her nerve system repairs itself, which can take up to 2 years, after which time she will hopefully no longer require the medication.
She currently walks with a crutch due to ongoing balance issues but hopefully through time regain most of what she feels she has lost. As if this wasn’t enough, she also has a PFO (hole in the heart) which was found at time of her stroke.
Having resigned herself very quickly that she wouldn't be heading back to her hairdressing career anytime soon, she decided to focus on the things she could do and signed up for night school at college, doing an IT course with a view to starting a full-time college course in August.
As a result of her experiences Natasha decided to start up a local community stroke support group online, so people in her area could connect with others and offer support on with their own stroke recovery. The hope is to organise face to face meetings for the community group from April.
As much as her life has been turned upside down for Natasha she won’t sit back and recognises that there is so much she can still do. What has happened in her life won’t stop her in the objective of helping others and in that respect, she is a perfect fit with Chequered Flag Motorsport and we welcome her as one of our valued ambassadors.
To find out more about the Facebook Group Natasha has set up please click the link below.