'I was at work when I suddenly couldn't see or talk - I thought I was going to die'
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A woman says her rare migraines may leave her needing a wheelchair permanently - and she has an imitation ‘stroke’ every two weeks. Leona Hargreaves, 26, was in the middle of a work day when she was randomly struck with a weakened left side, the inability to talk, and vision loss in her left eye. Her husband, Sam, 26, an aircraft technician, rushed her to Lincoln County Hospital, where she was diagnosed with hemiplegic migraines, after blood tests and a CT scan.
The rare migraines - which affect one in 10,000 people - cause stroke-like symptoms like slurred speech, muscle weakness and confusion, and there is currently no cure. Already reliant on a mobility aid during and after an episode, Leona fears she’ll suffer a migraine so severe, it will leave her in a wheelchair permanently.
Leona, a dental nurse, from Lincoln, said: “Hemiplegic migraines have had such a big impact on my life - I’m so scared they’ll damage me permanently. “Every attack I have, I wonder if it’ll be the one to leave me permanently unable to walk. It’s massively affected my independence - I can’t work full-time anymore, and I struggle to leave the house to spend time with my friends. People think migraines of any kind last a day, and then when the headache’s gone, it’s gone.
“But they don’t realise you can feel the build up for days, then the actual migraine, then the ‘hangover’ up to a week later." From the ages of 13 to 16, Leona suffered with migraines without aura, also known as common migraines. She’d often experience a “typical” headache, alongside blurred vision in her left eye. But at 16, they stopped and she was considered migraine-free for 10 years.
