“I started to feel numbness in my tongue. And I felt really dizzy. I thought it was a migraine attack at first, because I used to have them at the time,” Azmi, 40, told FMT Lifestyle.
Thankfully, he managed to reach home and staggered into his house. Feeling a strong need to rest, he lay on the floor and slept for a few hours.
As time progressed, his pain became more pronounced, and it was soon clear this was no mere migraine. Azmi’s family rushed him to a clinic, which in turn directed him to a hospital. There, an MRI revealed a blood clot in his brain.
“On my second day in the ICU, one of the doctors came to meet my family. The doctor told them it might be better to take me out and seek alternative treatment. It looked like I had only three days to live,” Azmi revealed.
Despite all odds, he managed to pull through and was eventually discharged after spending 22 days in hospital. His physical condition, however, had changed: Azmi was now paralysed on the right side of his body, and had difficulty walking and talking. This caused issues with his job as an inbound tour operator.
“I just wasn’t the same person I used to be. I couldn’t focus and kept making silly mistakes. Soon, I was fired.”
He ended up taking smaller jobs such as selling pisang goreng to make ends meet. Despite being disheartened, Azmi eventually realised he had to reclaim his life.
“My son, who was one year old at the time, gave me the spirit to go on. I kept thinking, ‘My family needs me, there’s still a long journey to go.’ It wouldn’t be fair to them if I left them so soon.”
Azmi doubled down on his treatment and physiotherapy and slowly recovered his mobility. It wasn’t easy, of course: once, he tried to walk without the aid of a walker and ended up pulling down his house curtains!
‘I can get through this’
Today, Azmi is a consultant at a financial institution and a father of four. He is also in demand as a public speaker and event emcee.
He keeps an active lifestyle and just finished a 5km run recently. Not bad for a person who’d previously been able to speak or move properly!
Azmi also volunteers at the National Stroke Association of Malaysia (Nasam) as an advocate, where he shares his remarkable story of recovery with other stroke patients. Hearing people connect with what he went through, he said, is the best part of this role.
Some effects of the stroke remain: Azmi still has numbness in his tongue and right cheek, and sometimes slurs his words when tired. But otherwise, he’s close to how he was before this all happened.
“In life, you often go through many challenges. But going through something like this, you realise you can withstand a lot. You think, ‘I got through a stroke, I can get through this’,” he said.
In conjunction with Stroke Awareness Month throughout May, FMT Lifestyle asked what he had learnt about lowering stroke risks. Azmi said food is a big factor, as he had previously eaten high-cholesterol foods very regularly. So, stick with a healthy and balanced diet.
Also: “Connect with nature. Go ‘forest bathing’ once a month. Quit smoking if you can. And don’t stress yourself too much. Most people stress about things that are not within their control.
“Finally, remember that a stroke doesn’t have to be the end. There is still so much you can do, so be resilient.”
Learn more about the National Stroke Association of Malaysia here, and follow Azmi Helmi on Instagram.