A stroke survivor from Lampeter is sharing their story ahead of World Stroke Day, as part of a national campaign to spotlight the fragility of the brain and the life-changing impact a stroke can have on people of all ages.

Mererid Olivia Rees, known as Mez is raising awareness of stroke as part of the Stroke Association’s ‘Survival Is Not Enough’ campaign.

Mez was living in Dubai and working as a dancer, street performer and costume character performer when she had a stroke on the 16 November 2021. She was young, fit and had experienced no warning signs, so stroke was not suspected when she suddenly collapsed at work. “I was a dancer and a performer,” she says. “So nobody thought it was a stroke.”

Doctors discovered that Mez’s stroke was caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an abnormal tangle of blood vessels in the brain. She spent around a month in hospital in Dubai before returning to Wales, where she faced a long recovery. “The stroke left me with right side weakness, no feeling in my right side, drop foot and fatigue alongside others and my vision changed post radiotherapy too.”

Mez Olivia
Mez Olivia collapsed whilst working in Dubai (SWNS)

Although Mez often looks well, the effects of stroke continue to shape everyday life. “People look at me and think I’m okay,” she says. “They assume everything is fine.” With support from her family and rehabilitation, she has gradually rebuilt her strength and confidence, moved into her own flat and returned to work as a social media manager.

Now Mez is planning an event to raise awareness of stroke in young people. She hopes her experience will challenge the idea that stroke only affects older people and help others understand that recovery can continue long after hospital discharge. “I’m still me,” she says. “Stroke changed my life, but it hasn’t taken away who I am.”

In the UK, someone has a stroke every five minutes, with 1.4 million people currently living with a brain injury caused by stroke.

Despite the life-changing impact of stroke, awareness of its severity and the long-term challenges survivors face remains worryingly low amongst the general public.

Although one in four strokes happen to people of working age, nearly a third (28%) of Brits surveyed by the Stroke Association believe they mainly affect people over-65s. While a third of those aged 18-34 (34%) and almost a quarter of 35-44 year olds (24%) believe they’re too young to have one.

Mez Olivia, 30, from Lampeter, Wales, in hospital after suffering from a brain haemorrhage while working in Dubai. // A woman who collapsed without warning while working in Dubai had to relearn how to walk after suffering a life-threatening stroke and brain bleed that left her unable to feel the right side of her body. Mez Olivia, 30, from Lampeter, Wales, was living in Dubai and working as a costume character animator and dancer when her life changed in October 16, 2021. The social media manager says she had no symptoms whatsoever before collapsing at work and waking up days later in intensive care. Doctors discovered Mez had suffered a brain haemorrhage caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) - a tangle of abnormal blood vessels in the brain. She spent 11 days in intensive care and underwent emergency treatment after doctors warned her family that without intervention she would die. After stabilising in Dubai, Mez was flown back to the UK in December 2021 as her insurance coverage was running out.
Doctors discovered Mez had suffered a brain haemorrhage caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) (Mez Olivia / SWNS)

Katie Chappelle, Associate Director for Wales at the Stroke Association, said: “A stroke is a devastating brain injury, leaving behind life-changing trauma. In an instant, a stroke can steal away the things that many of us take for granted, such as walking, talking, eating and living independently; the things that make you, you.

“For so many stroke survivors, the fight doesn’t end when their lives are saved, yet every day survivors and their families are left traumatised and without the long-term rehabilitation and support they need. After everything a stroke takes, no-one should have to fight for essential support to recover and live a full life again.”