90-minute ordeal during Bek's family holiday led to diagnosis she never expected

Bek Towndrow was on holiday with her husband and two kids when, out of nowhere, her eyesight disappeared.

She thought it was because she hadn't been sleeping well or had been run down in the leadup to the holiday, but she never could have imagined it was something much more sinister.

Towndrow tells 9honey she immediately asked the kids to get her husband to help.

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"They sat me down and I still couldn't see at that point, I just didn't know what was going on," she recalls.

The 41-year-old says her eyesight didn't return for an hour and a half, and so her husband took her to lie down and that's when her memories of that day stopped.

"My right eye drooped and my face started to droop, and I kind of started slurring my words, but I don't remember that bit at all," she says.

"Then I remember waking up and being like, 'I'm fine, I'm all good'. I did not think I was having a stroke at all."

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But because she felt better, Towndrow slipped back into her role as a busy mum-of-two before she even considered getting herself checked out.

"I didn't want anyone to fuss about me or anything, so being a mum, we came back and got the kids sorted and I just thought, 'I'll see how I go, how I feel but I won't push myself'."

She admits it wasn't until she had a chat with a colleague that she realised she needed to put her health first and get checked out.

But that visit to the GP led to a long series of medical visits that did in fact confirm she'd had a stroke and was at risk of another one.

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"My doctor said, 'Oh my god, you need an MRI scan right now' and called around everywhere to get me in and then I went and had the scan, which was the scariest moment of my life."

Afterwards, Towndrow "knew something wasn't right" when she was immediately ordered to go to St Vincent's Hospital for further treatment.

While all this was going on, her husband was in Perth visiting family and the kids were in daycare. So from the hospital, she had to arrange for friends to collect her children, while she awaited the results that would inevitably change the course of her life.

She was told she has antiphospholipid syndrome (APLS), meaning her blood clots easily, which is what led to her stroke on holidays.

Fortunately though, Towndrow discovered the stroke didn't have any lasting side-effects on her brain or her body.

"I do think, 'Why me? Why me for having this?' But also, why am I so lucky that I don't have any side-effects? Because there are a lot of people out there that do and it's horrible. Stroke is so serious."

She admits she also feels lucky because her risk of having another stroke was extremely high in the six months that followed, but she says that waiting period has now passed. 

Towndrow now has to take special medication that thins her blood for the rest of her life and, as a result, has to be extremely careful not to suffer any hits to the head, which could lead to hemorrhaging.

But with two active kids who play sports, she's now experiencing "huge health anxiety", which she's working through with a psychologist.

In time for National Stroke Week, Towndrow hopes her story will serve as an important reminder to mums out there that "strokes don't just happen to older people", they can happen to anyone.

"I'm just trying to be positive and being open about it because I just don't want this to happen to anyone else, especially mothers because we're so good at putting ourselves last."

Towndrow says she's now very passionate about mums advocating for their own health.

"When something's not right, look into it, don't just brush it aside because it can be more serious."

She admits she feels "lucky to be alive" because after having this syndrome her whole life without knowing, things like pregnancy and childbirth put her at a "huge risk" of dying.

"I'm not allowed to have any more kids, and I'm so thankful that I have two healthy kids."

Now, Towndrow is making changes to ensure she's around for her kids for a long time.

"I can't imagine if I wasn't around to see them grow up, they honestly are my world and it just really puts everything into perspective about what matters and what doesn't.

"Health is wealth, it doesn't matter how much money you have in the bank, how much stuff you have, all that matters is that you're healthy and you are spending time with your family.

"That, to me, is all that I want."

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