Running Free - Breaking Out From Locked-In Syndrome by Kate Allatt & Alison Stokes

Author:Kate Allatt & Alison Stokes [Allatt, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Accent Press Ltd
Published: 2011-05-18T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

Facebook Saved my Life

THERE WAS A SIGN attached to the computer at the nurse’s station on Osborn 4 which read ‘Facebook is prohibited. Any staff found using it will be disciplined.’ Like many workplaces the social network was out of bounds for the caring profession. I could imagine how frustrated I would have been if I was waiting for pain relief and the nurses were updating their Facebook status, but for me it was an essential tool of my trade. As a digital marketer, Facebook was my primary means of communication; in an age where so many people are addicted to their smart phones, it is the way to do business. Setting up new pages for my clients, sending out invitations to events, breaking news of special offers, Facebook was my professional lifeline. I had an idea. As I was unable to talk, Facebook could be my voice.

When Mark came in to visit me one night, I used the switch and the specialist GRID 2 computer beside my bed to spell out ‘ask nurse can I use computer’. ‘Why?’ Mark questioned. ‘Want internet,’ I replied. The bedside computer had its uses for writing but it wasn’t connected to the internet. Mark went off in search of Running Man, and came back with the answer I wanted. When the time came to say goodnight, Mark wheeled me out to the nurses’ station and left me in front of the computer screen.

‘You do realise I could get into serious trouble if I’m caught allowing you to use my Facebook account,’ Running Man warned. ‘But as you’re a fellow runner, I’ll take the risk,’ he joked as he tapped his name and password into the computer and I was away. My left hand was still only flickering, but I had enough movement in my right arm, which was propped up on a cushion, to hold the mouse and click my way to a new lifeline.

I logged on to my account. My last post had been on January 31, exactly one week before the stroke. I had asked my generous friends to support me in my Kilimanjaro adventure and help raise cash for the Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice. The words seemed fresh in my mind yet Kili was now a challenge too far. As I started to update my profile with my shaky hand, I thought how far I had already come.

I wrote:

Hello, I thought you might be interested my story. On February 7 2010 I unfortunately suffered a major stroke. My survival chances were 50/50 and it was utterly devastating. Not normal for a fit 40-year-old mum of three young children, but an awful blood clot to my brain stem which caused me to become paralysed with locked-in syndrome. I used to road run, such as the Sheffield half marathon 1 hr 35 min then I moved on to fell running around 12 miles at a time. Imagine being buried alive, only able to blink…? While I wanted to die in the ICU, I’m glad I didn’t now.

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