A man left ‘trapped’ in his own body after a major stroke, has married his loving wife while in an intensive therapy unit, just two weeks after the life changing incident.
Alyson Brown, 36, from Newcastle, said she wants to be by her husband, Steven Brown, ‘in sickness and in health’ and sends warning to others to be aware of the signs of a stroke.
Alyson met her now-husband Steven Brown, 39, through Tinder two years ago and the two got engaged last August.
However, their relationship experienced a dramatic change last June after Steven experienced two strokes, the second sending his body into a state of ‘locked in’ paralysis.
After the first stroke, Steven, who worked for HM Revenue and Customs, managed to recover and was placed on bed rest.
Alyson and Steven pictured celebrating their wedding in hospital. The new bride said she will be with her husband ‘in sickness and in health’ and wants others to be aware of the warning signs of a stroke
Alyson Brown, 36, a primary school teacher from Newcastle pictured (left) with her newborn baby. She married her fiancé, Steven Brown (pictured right) in an intensive therapy unit after his life changing stroke
However, soon after, he experienced yet again the intensely painful symptoms of a stroke, and screamed for Alyson to call 999, saying ‘This is it’ before collapsing.
His wife, Alyson, who works as a primary school teacher, said it was ‘one of the scariest things’ she’s ever seen.
The second stroke left him entirely paralysed with ‘locked-in syndrome’, which means he can still see and hear but is unable to move or speak.
Steven now communicates entirely through blinking – two blinks for yes and one for no.
His family and friends have been devastated and Steven initially indicated that he wanted his ventilator turned off because the medical staff ‘pretty much said that he’s got no chance of any quality of life at all’, his best friend Kris Leighton, 43, explained.
However, after having a ‘perfect’ wedding ceremony in the intensive care unit on 27 June, Steven has changed his mind and wants to continue living, Alyson said.
During the ceremony, Alyson wore a white dress and the staff lined the corridors and clapped while Steven’s 16-year-old son placed the ring on his wife-to-be’s finger.
‘Once he got married the following day and saw all the support and love he’s gotten, it made him change his mind and want to fight on,’ Kris said.
Football-obsessed Steven previously played semi-professionally for Dunston UTS Football Club, and has four children – Benny, five-months-old, Megan, seven, Annee, 10, and Rocco, 16.
Alyson pictured giving her new husband a kiss during their wedding in the intensive care unit. Steven suffers with ‘locked-in’ syndrome which means he can see and hear but cannot move or speak
Alyson holds hands with her new husband on their wedding day. Alyson wants to warn others of the warning signs after Steven’s symptoms were mistaken for high blood pressure
Alyson and Steven with their son Benny, who is just five months old, in hospital after his birth. Steven now communicates entirely through blinking – two blinks for yes and one for no
Alyson, Steven and his 16-year-old son, Rocco at a football game before his stroke. Steven’s family and friends were devastated when he initially indicated that he wanted his life support machine to be switched off
He first experienced intense pain, dizziness and blurred vision one morning in April, before a pharmacist told him he had high blood pressure.
On another occasion, Alyson received a text from Steven asking her to pick him up from work as he had experienced an extremely bad dizzy spell.
When she then took him to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Gateshead, she noticed his slanted eye and lips.
‘There was just something that was not sitting right,’ Alyson explained.
Steven had a scan and the couple were informed that he had experienced a stroke – as a precaution, he was made to remain overnight at Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
‘It was a cerebellar stroke, which usually happens from damage in the back of the neck but Steven hadn’t had an accident,’ Alyson explained.
On June 13, Alyson and Steven were going to go to their local coffee shop when Steven started to feel unwell and wanted to lie down in bed – but Alyson asked him to stay downstairs with her.
She said: ‘I am so glad I did because he sat bolt upright and just shouted my name – ‘Alyson, ring 999, this is it’ – and then he had fits and seizures on that sofa in front of me.
‘I rang 999 and as I was on the phone to them, his breathing went really deep so I had to shout next door to the neighbour to help me put Steven on his side because his body had stiffened with the seizure.’
The ambulance ‘only took eight minutes to get there but it felt like a lifetime because I was watching him in pain’, Alyson said.
The following morning in hospital, Steven was sent to have an operation, during which multiple clots were found and one was removed.
After the operation, friends and family were feeling positive and expected him to recover and begin moving.
As time went on, Steven showed no signs of movement and eventually his family and wife were given the heartbreaking news that he had extremely rare locked-in syndrome.
‘I was going back over for a visit and the doctor sat me down and said the symptoms and I asked ‘is it locked-in syndrome’ and she looked at me and said ‘yes’,’ Alyson said.
She said she was in ‘disbelief’ initially.
‘(I had) the realisation that I’m never going to get him home to our home, and also not wanting to go to our home because it’s where I saw him take so poorly and I thought I lost him that day,’ Alyson said.
Family and friends have been heartened that Steven can still communicate with them, using a chart Alyson made with different letters for him to spell out words.
‘The first letters I got from him from this chart that I made was L-O-V. He could only give us three, and I said ‘I love you too’ and ‘if you want to say I love you, give us four blinks’, so every time I’m in in the morning, I get four blinks and every time I’m leaving, I get four blinks.’
Alyson said she was determined to marry the man she loved and she told him: ‘Marriage is in sickness and in health, I am here by your side, and whatever you need, that’s what we’ll do.’
Decoration in the hospital room on Alyson and Steven’s wedding day. Family and friends have been heartened that Steven can still communicate with them, using a chart Alyson made with different letters for him to spell out words
Steven pictured with his mother Maureen on a bright sunny day before the stroke that left him paralysed. His family has since described him as having a deeply caring nature
Steven pictured sharing a windy cuddle his dog Norman at Bolam Lake in Northumberland. Just a month after his major stroke, animal-loving Steven jumped into Bolam Lake in Northumberland to rescue his dog Norman, who had swum in after a ball
Steven and his now wife, Alyson, pictured taking an affectionate selfie during the festive season. The two met on Tinder two years ago and became officially engaged last August
Steven enjoying a snack at the beach. During the wedding ceremony in hospital, the football obsessed Steven was dressed in a Newcastle top and his sliders which his wife said was ‘totally’ him
Steven pictured with his oldest son, Rocco, and the family dog, Norman. Steven’s family and friends continue to rally around him, describing him as ‘funny,’ ‘cheeky’ and a family man
‘Basically they said, “Do you still want to marry Alyson?”‘ and he gave two blinks and they said that was a definite yes, so they were like, “Look, Alyson, if we can sort it, would you still marry Steven?” she said.
‘I just burst into tears – of course I would.’
She said: ‘(The hospital staff) got flowers for us and they got a wedding cake for us and they lined up and down the corridors, all the nurses and doctors, and clapped as me and my dad walked through.
‘The hospital staff decorated the room and used pillowcases on the chairs and stuff like that, they had been really creative, and all of his friends and family all wore Newcastle tops.
‘Steven wore his Newcastle top and his sliders because he effectively lives in his sliders, and it was just totally Steven.
‘His son Rocco was his best man and obviously Steven wasn’t able to put the ring on my finger so his son did it for him which was super emotional.
‘We were able to forget, just for one day, and it just really expressed the meaning of marriage. I couldn’t see anyone else in the room.
‘Everyone said he lit up and his eyes were open when I came in the room and mine did too, and for that moment we had it was really special, and I wouldn’t normally say that about something, but it was actually quite magical.’
Before the wedding, Steven’s friends held a stag do for him in his hospital room in which they watched England play in the Euros and had a few drinks, Kris said.
Alyson said their initial wedding venue was still booked.
She said: ‘It’s still there in the hope that we still get to do that as well.’
Steven is receiving physical therapy and around-the-clock care and his wife, friends and family hope he will make progress and be moved from the intensive care unit to the stroke ward.
‘At the moment, it’s taking one day at a time,’ Alyson said.
His family and friends continue to rally around him, describing him as ‘funny,’ ‘cheeky’ and a family man.
Just a month after his major stroke, animal-loving Steven jumped into Bolam Lake in Northumberland to rescue his dog Norman, who had swum in after a ball
Alyson’s message to anyone experiencing strange symptoms, and to their loved ones, is to ‘speak up’ if they think there is a problem, and to ‘get checked if you don’t feel right’.
Steven’s friends and family have started a GoFundMe to raise money for his healthcare and will be organising charity football matches with his old club as well as a charity golf day.
Steven’s friend, Kris, was delighted their friend has had such an ‘unbelievable’ amount of support.
Steven’s fundraiser is at https://www.gofundme.com/f/roonies-rehab-from-locked-in-syndrome-his-kids-future-b