The day began like any other until a sudden pop inside my head, intense pressure and an excruciating headache. I looked at my watch 0858. 

In that split second my life changed forever.

I turned off the shower and got out, slipping slightly I thought “am I weak on my feet?” but shrugged it off and figured I must have just slipped on the wet floor. As I grabbed a towel I  thought “woah I don’t feel good at all”. I started towards the bedroom, but with each step my feet met the floor with less surety until both my legs gave way and I collapsed unable to move.  

I looked at my watch at 0900, I remember thinking “In two minutes I have gone from feeling absolutely fine to paralysed from the waist down, this is not a good day”

Luckily for me the ambulance took me to the Wessex Neurological Centre at The University of Southampton Hospital. After several scans it was confirmed I’d had a hemorrhagic stroke, the result of an ArterioVenous Malformation (AVM).

An AVM is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain which disrupts normal blood flow and oxygen circulation. The vessel walls had become weak and ruptured, causing bleeding into the brain, stroke, and brain damage.  AVM cause is poorly understood, and may be genetic, hereditary, or congenital in nature. In my case, the AVM was in the portion of the brain which controlled the motor and sensory function of my right side.

The AVM spanned the length of the main artery supplying oxygen to a large region of the brain. On January 5th 2020, the day of my brain surgery I was informed that the entire vessel would have to be removed meaning I would lose all movement and feeling down my right side. The surgeon detected my shock and stated frankly, “Waking up unable to move your right side is better than dying.”  

The choice wasn’t as clear-cut for me “I don’t know, actually, my life revolves around being active.” I spent the next hour preparing for the life-changing procedure by stroking my leg, one final effort to stimulate it to move and squeeze out the last drop of feeling I was soon to be without.

I woke up 10.5 hours later and was told surgery was successful and the main artery was not removed. It was in that split second I took ownership and vowed I would make a full recovery, I would walk, run, cycle surf and ski again. I was discharged the next day and began my rehab journey. 

I owe my life to the doctors and nurses in The Wessex Neuro ward so I decided a few days after surgery that on the one year anniversary I would cycle 100miles to the doors of the hospital and back home to raise much needed funds and awareness of AVM.

 I will leave home at 0858 on 22 December, exactly one year after my stroke to signify my recovery. 

I have documented my story on twitter @Steve_velo

I am also hosting a raffle for a Giro d'Italia Pink Jersey signed by the Tour winner for 2021, Egan Bernal.  Please use this link to enter: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/steven-curran2