Mum left disabled after doctors dismissed stroke as 'high blood sugar'
A mother-of-two, whose stroke was dismissed by doctors as high blood sugar levels, has been left permanently disabled.
Alison Yeadon, 52, has to use a wheelchair and wrestles with speech and memory problems after suffering a stroke four years ago after she sent was home from a hospital assessment.
Her husband Jon, 50, said: “Before the stroke, Alison was fit and healthy and we enjoyed life as a family. Sadly, that’s a thing of the past for us now, and seeing my loving wife struggle day after day is heart-breaking.
“What Alison has been through has been unbearable. Our lives have changed forever.”
Jon rushed Alison to Bradford Royal Infirmary on 9 July, 2017, after she suffered left-sided weakness which he suspected to be a stroke.
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But she was assessed and discharged home, with doctors diagnosing possible high blood sugar.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, has admitted a breach of duty and a failure to identify and diagnose Alison’s stroke.
However, it has denied that admitting Alison to hospital when she was seen would have changed her outcome.
Jon now says their lives have “changed forever” after Alison was left housebound by her disability and has to rely on care from her family.
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Two days later, her weakness had worsened and she was struggling with her speech so Jon called a GP, who recommended Alison went to hospital as an emergency.
She was finally diagnosed with a stroke and treated, but she had already suffered serious injury.
She has since been left disabled and is now largely house and wheelchair-bound and has speech and memory problems.
Two days later, her weakness had worsened and she was struggling with her speech so Jon called a GP, who recommended Alison went to hospital as an emergency.
She was finally diagnosed with a stroke and treated, but she had already suffered serious injury.
She has since been left disabled and is now largely house and wheelchair-bound and has speech and memory problems.
Alison, of Odsal, Bradford, is now entirely dependent on Jon and her daughter Gemma, 30, to care for her.
Jon added: “Alison started complaining of a really bad headache which was getting stronger and stronger, as well as slight numbness in her left arm and leg and that she couldn’t stand up properly.
“I was convinced she was having a stroke so I called 999, but then she was sent back home. Within two days, she was a lot worse and was eventually diagnosed, but by then the damage was permanent.
“Despite what the hospital said it’s difficult not to think how things might have turned out differently had she been diagnosed earlier. All we can do now is help make others aware of what a stroke can do and what to look out for.”
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Medical negligence experts at Irwin Mitchell solicitors have investigated the hospital’s failings so Alison can access the specialist life-time treatment and therapies she requires.
Her family and their legal team are now marking Stroke Awareness Month by highlighting the signs and symptoms of a stroke.
According to the NHS, the most common signs of a stroke include your face dropping to one side, not being able to lift both arms due to a weakness in one arm and slurred speech.
Rachelle Mahapatra, specialist medical negligence lawyer representing the family, said: “The past few years have been incredibly difficult for Alison and her family, having to deal with the life-changing effects of her stroke. She is now largely housebound because of her disabilities.
“Understandably they were then left with unanswered questions as to whether or not she should have been treated when she first attended hospital. While nothing can make up for their ordeal we’re pleased to have secured them with the answers they deserve.”
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A spokesperson for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “The Trust wishes to express its sincere apologies to Alison and her family that the opportunity to diagnose Alison’s stroke earlier was missed.
“This matter is ongoing and the Trust cannot comment any further whilst investigations continue.”
Stroke Awareness Month, held annually in May, aims to raise awareness of the signs of a stroke, the impact they have and educate people what to do in the event of someone suffering a stroke.
For more information visit the Stroke Association’s website stroke.org.uk
Additional reporting by SWNS.
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