A Dublin woman was horrified after what she thought was a bad hangover was actually a stroke.
Hairdresser Francesca Murray suffered paralysis on her right side and lost her ability to walk during a girls' trip in Kerry.
The Ballyfermot woman said: "It was supposed to be my friend Natasha Flynn’s wedding but she cancelled because of Covid and 30 of us went down to Kerry in June 2020 to celebrate anyway.
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"We had a session in her house in Ventry and went to bed. I got up, felt a little groggy and decided to have a painkiller and went back to bed.
"Even getting sick a short time later was no different to a bad hangover."
Alarm bells went off in Natasha's head after Fran began slurring her words and her condition deteriorated.
The Tralee-based nurse immediately 999 and Fran was airlifted by a Coastguard crew to CUH.
She said: "I couldn’t speak, I had right-side paralysis and couldn’t move, I couldn’t swallow, had to be spoon-fed and had a catheter in.
"I remember the doctors around the bed saying I had had a stroke. It was horrible. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It gave me a whole different outlook on life.
"They [medical teams] said they had no way of telling at the time how permanent the damage was."
She was in CUH for a month before being transferred to St James’s Hospital and now only relies on medication as part of her recovery.
Fran, who is a stylist at Manor Hair Studio in Palmerstown, made an impressive recovery and is now training for next month’s Women’s Mini Marathon to raise money for CUH Charity.
She said: "I’m nearly there. Now it’s like I’m working on myself, I’ve joined a gym and I’m reclaiming my life."
Fran’s experience had another positive spin-off – her daughter Jasmine, 25, is embarking on a nursing career after being closely briefed by medics on her mum’s progress.
You can donate money to support Fran's cause here
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