Doctors at Maidstone Hospital in Kent found Phoebe O’Shaughnessy’s extreme symptoms were caused by an autoimmune condition manifesting on the opposite end of her body
A woman is relearning how to walk and talk again aged just 21 after suffering from what she believed was a bad headache.
Phoebe O’Shaughnessy started experiencing severe headaches that left her unable to eat in April 2024, and was rushed to hospital four days later experiencing absent seizures. Now 22, Phoebe explained she couldn’t speak when she was admitted to Maidstone Hospital in Kent, and a CT scan revealed she had suffered a stroke.
She spent four days bedridden and receiving food through a tube while doctors confirmed she had suffered a stroke. Further testing uncovered the root cause of her extreme symptoms, with medics finding they were caused by an autoimmune condition – on the other side of her body.
Phoebe, an administrative assistant from Sevenoaks, Kent, said: “The onset of the headaches were sudden, and medicine wasn’t alleviating any pain. By the fourth day I couldn’t keep any medicine down due to the pain, and asked my mum to take me to hospital. They took me in, carried out a cranial nerve exam and weren’t worried about the headache, but took me in to monitor my colitis flare. I do not remember anything past the cranial nerve exam.”
Phoebe was eventually told she had suffered from a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) – a rare form of stroke where a clot forms on the brain’s venous sinuses. She spent 21 in hospital and tests revealed the stroke had been caused by her ulcerative colitis. She said: “I was in the hyper acute stroke unit at Maidstone originally, and then the acute stroke unit once I was able to walk and talk again.”
She had previously been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which causes the gut to become swollen and ulcerated – in September 2019. The condition left her suffering with frequent vomiting and she had just changed medication a week before her stroke.
Her combination of the oral contraceptive pill and corticosteroids were also considered as ‘contributing factors’ to her stroke. Phoebe said: “There probably should be more conversations about inflammatory bowel disease and clotting, and whether you want to take the risk of taking additional medication with side effects of clotting.”
Phoebe remains positive despite her traumatic experience – advising those with inflammatory bowel diseases to “always advocate for yourself”. She said: “Whilst doctors are very intelligent and educated people, they aren’t living in your body. If you think something is wrong, you need to be persistent.
“I cope with the pain and physical symptoms, not because I’m really strong or amazing or anything, but because I don’t have another choice. I think the worst part of IBD is how it can mess up your life plans. It’s hard to commit to anything because your situation can change at the drop of a hat.”
Phoebe has now raised £1,385 for Crohn’s and Colitis UK, and Headway – a brain injury association – and wants to see more research and resource for IBD. She said: “There is certainly room for improvement.” CEO of Crohn’s and Colitis UK, Marianne Radcliffe, said: “We know many people with Crohn’s or Colitis still face unmet needs in care, support, and understanding from the broader community and healthcare system.
IBD services are overstretched and under-resourced, which is having a damaging impact on the mental and physical health of those living with the conditions. We need everyone to do their bit to confront the urgent issues facing IBD care.” Dr Paul Ames of Queen Mary University of London said: “Inflammatory bowel disease is characterised by an increased risk in clotting, the causes of which are poorly understood.”
