ENNISKILLEN rugby star Kathryn Dane has said she counts her ‘blessings every day’ months after she suffered a serious stroke.
During a training camp with Ireland in Dublin in November 2022, the 26-year-old Enniskillen woman fell ill.
Thanks to the quick thinking and fast actions of the Ireland medical team, the Ireland scrum half was rushed to hospital where she received potentially life-saving treatment for a brain haemorrhage.
Over 16 months later, the Chartered Physiotherapist is on the road to recovery. She’s urging other young adults to be aware of the signs of strokes and life-threatening conditions.
“I couldn’t get over how quickly things happened,” Ms Dane told the ‘OffTheBall’ podcast.
“I had this massive headache as I was doing my hip thrusts and luckily I had my S&C [Strength and Conditioning] coach Ed Slattery and he saw that I was in distress.
“He noticed that my face had dropped and I had complete loss of power in my left arm and left leg,” recalls the Enniskillen woman.
The Old Belvedere player was rushed to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown where she was treated for a brain haemorrhage.
“I felt blood behind my right eye which was crazy. That was where the AVM [Arteriovenous malformations] was, the cluster of blood vessels, that burst that day,” said the 26-year-old rugby star.
“I had been born with it, but I didn’t have any symptoms proceeding that event. I had a good idea but I wasn’t sure exactly the severity of the situation.”
After recently graduating as a Chartered Physiotherapist at Trinity College Dublin, Ms Dane was aware that something was wrong and that she had suffered a potentially life-changing stroke.
“I remember thinking at the time, ‘Oh gosh, I think this is a stroke’,” Ms Dane told the ‘OffTheBall’ podcast.
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