Plymouth mum’s stroke spotted thanks to daughter’s aircrew training: Emotional video captures bond between them

A Plymouth mum and her daughter who raised the alarm when she spotted her having a stroke have shared their story in an emotional video on Facebook.

Vaishali Phippen, 55, daughter Renée, 25, want to raise awareness of the signs to look out for and the support available for stroke survivors from the Stroke Association.

The video, by Renée’s partner Tom, is on her Facebook page.

It was 5am on Thursday 12 October last year when Vaishali woke to find that she couldn’t speak, her arm was numb and she could barely walk.

Thanks to Renée’s first aid training in her job as a Virgin Atlantic flight attendant she immediately realised that her mum was having a stroke and called 999.

“My mum woke me up at 5am,” said Renee. “She couldn’t talk, she couldn’t really walk, she was completely petrified.

“Because of my medical training for my job I luckily know about FAST and what it means. Her face didn’t droop that obviously, it was the speech that was the biggest factor that we noticed. I thought she might die.”

The FAST acronym aims to remind people that the key signs of stroke are a face that has fallen on one side (F), arm weakness (A) and slurred speech (S) – which indicate that it’s time (T) to call 999.  

When 999 call handlers couldn’t say how long the wait for an ambulance would be, a neighbour drove Vaishali to hospital with Renée looking after her.

Medical staff believed that it was “probably a viral infection” and she was discharged, only for an MRI scan two weeks later to confirm that it was a stroke.

'I felt very frightened and confused'

Vaishali was a busy working single mum who changed the course of her life by going to university at the age of 47, graduating at 52 after completing a degree in Environmental Management and Sustainability, with her masters in Environmental Consultancy.

She believes that high blood pressure and stress were the causes of the stroke which happened at 5am in October last year. Vaishali describes the fear which overcame her.

“I noticed my arm was numb and I could barely use my right leg and arm. I also couldn’t talk. It dawned on me in that moment that I may have been having a stroke so I woke my daughter up and she also concluded the same so we rang 999. I felt very frightened and confused.”

In the four-minute video on Renée’s social media, mum and daughter talk about their experiences and how she’s rebuilding her life with the help of the Stroke Association’s Plymouth Stroke Recovery Service and the Plymouth Peer Support Group.

The video, by Renée’s partner Tom, is on her Facebook page.

In it, they talk about the Stroke Association’s Plymouth Stroke Recovery Service which helps people to rebuild confidence and independence, and to live the best life they can after stroke.

Recovery planning

Support Coordinator John Bailey was able to help the family with their recovery planning, information on the emotional aspects of stroke, healthy eating, memory, fatigue and returning to work, as well as putting her in touch with other organisations offering support.

“My daughter got in touch with the Stroke Association and John came out to see us,” said Vaishali. “He introduced us to the stroke survivors group and that was like coming home because the understanding they gave me nobody can give me that understanding. I had a feeling of community, home and acceptance.

“I can go to the stroke survivors group every Friday, meet up and have a coffee with them and belong to a community where I can get understanding and acceptance.

“All strokes are different and it is possible to rebuild your life. There is life after stroke. With determination, hard work and prayer it is possible.

“I have been steadily getting better with hard work, determination, exercise etc.

“I can walk, I can talk, I can write. The speed isn’t there. I can’t write in speed, I can’t write good handwriting any more.

Vaishali’s stroke has left her with muscle weakness, fatigue, depression, swallowing problems and other difficulties. But she has been able to return to work, thanks to support and adaptations by her employer.

Like many stroke survivors, she can easily be overcome by feelings of fatigue.

“My socialising days after work are over,” she said. “If I have to go away for a work trip, I am in bed all day and all evening when I am home.

“I do housework in stages. I am lucky enough to be able to work from home and my employer has supplied a rising desk and comfortable chair. And there is no pressure now to try and attend office.”

Renée said: “My mum is the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. She is the most loving, caring human being. She’ll always do anything for anyone.

'A really eye-opening experience'

“Watching my mum after the stroke has been a really eye-opening experience, to watch her take back her life and not allow the stroke to define her life.

“We initially thought the symptoms she had would be there forever and thankfully that’s not the case. She’s been able to regain her speech, she’s able to walk again, she’s able to look after herself. Those are the biggest things that we were worried she wouldn’t be able to do.”

On 18 August Renée and seven friends will be tackling the Three Peaks Challenge – Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis in 24 hours – to raise funds for the Stroke Association,

Read more about the challenge on Renée's Just Giving page

“I’ll need to mentally and physically push myself, just like stroke survivors have to do every day,” said Renée. “Because it is a different way of life to when they were used to before the stroke.”

Vaishali herself is raising funds for the Stroke Association by walking 10,000 steps a day for 130 days.

Specialist support

Jacqui Cuthbert, the Stroke Association’s Associate Director for the South West and Channel Islands, said: “The bond between Vaishali and Renée comes over so powerfully in this video and it’s great to see she’s making good progress in rebuilding her life.

“We’re hugely grateful to them both for raising funds for our charity. Our specialist support, research and campaigning are only possible with the courage and determination of the stroke community and the generosity of our supporters.”

Funding from the NHS Devon Integrated Care Board enables the Stroke Association to support around 900 stroke survivors a year but almost two-thirds of stroke survivors in the county don’t receive any Life After Stroke support.

This means:

• They don’t get to talk to someone who has had a stroke and understands the challenges they are facing.
• They don’t get the support needed to return to work and the understanding and changes the employers may need to make.
• They don’t have access to the emotional and communication support that they need, when they need it.
• Carers don’t have access to the support they also need to help them with the challenges they face in this demanding role
• Carers don’t have access to the support they also need to help them with the challenges they face in this demanding role