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Triathlete has the ‘personality of a child’ and is paralysed after sumo wrestling accident at family wedding

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A FIT and healthy triathlete has been left with the personality of a child after sumo wrestling at a family wedding.

Carol Dickson-Fisher is also partially paralysed after she was rushed to hospital following the freak accident.

Carol Dickson-Fisher suffered a massive stroke after sumo wrestling at a family wedding
Triangle News

The 52-year-old has been left with the personality of a child after the freak accident in August
Triangle News

The 52-year-old suffered a massive stroke after the exertion caused neck strain and a bleed on the brain, doctors believe.

Within a day, the IT worker was unable to move one side of her body, and has now been told she may never walk again.

Carol was at the wedding of her wife’s daughter in Laughton, East Sussex when the freak accident happened on August 10.

Bride and groom, Yvonne Neville-Binder and James Hadley-Binder, had arranged party games for the kids attending.

Nancy Dickson-Fisher said her wife has suffered a distressing personality change, and said she wishes they had never even picked up the sumo costumes.

She said: “It is like looking after a child. I am regularly in floods of tears.

“I still love her and I will stand by her but her but she is not the person I married.”

Carol and her wife Nancy were play fighting at the wedding, before Carol appeared to suffer a stroke later that evening
Katie Battie/Triangle News

The 56-year-old nurse knew Carol had suffered a stroke after sensing her fidgeting in bed the night after the wedding.

An ambulance was called and a CT scan found significant bleeding and swelling in the brain and a large chunk of her skull had to be removed.

Nancy was told that an operation was solely to save her partner’s life and would have no bearing on the stroke.

Carol was “moments from death” before the surgery and Nancy had to endure a horrendous night waiting to learn whether her wife survived.

After the life-saving op a stroke consultant explained how there was a tear in an artery in her neck.

Nancy said: “The pictures of the wedding were on the walls and I saw the sumo-wrestling pictures and I thought oh my goodness could I have caused that?

“I said it to the consultant and he said the sumo wrestling was the most likely cause.”

Doctors told Carol’s wife, Nancy, they believe the exertion could have caused a neck strain which triggered the bleed on her brain
Katie Battie/Triangle News

Carol has not walked since and is recovering at a rehab centre in Cornwall.

The left side of her face is paralysed along with her left arm and leg.

Her short term memory has been affected and a bleed in her frontal lobe has caused personality changes.

Nancy said Carol used to be quiet but is now overly chatty, gets separation anxiety and constantly sends messages asking where she is.

I saw the sumo-wrestling pictures and I thought oh my goodness could I have caused that? I said it to the consultant and he said the sumo wrestling was the most likely cause

Nancy Dickson-Fisher

She said: “When she was in critical care I brought in a Bagpuss toy for her to squeeze in her right arm when my hand wasn’t there.

“But it has become a crutch and she talks through it – and that is quite distressing. The little toy is almost like an imaginary friend.”

She added: “Obviously I am a nurse and I am used to looking after people and I have three children and eight grandchildren – but I never imagined I would have to be looking after my wife in this way.”

The pair had moved to Redruth, Cornwall, in July for the start of a new life.

Both chose the south-west for the outdoor sporting opportunities – with Carol being a fitness fanatic and triathlon runner.

ACT FAST: The signs of stroke you need to know

A STROKE happens when the blood supply to the brain is cut off.

Blood carries oxygen to the brain, and without it brain cells will begin to die off.

This is what causes the damage to other parts of the body, in stroke victims – for example speech problems or a weakness on one side.

There are two different types of stroke.

An ischaemic stroke is the most common, and is caused by a blockage cutting off the blood supply to the brain.

In contrast a haemorrhagic stroke is caused by bleeding in or around the brain.

Act FAST

Using the FAST test method can help recognise key symptoms of stroke…

Face – Can they smile? Does one side droop?

Arm – Can they lift both arms? Is one weak?

Speech – Is their speech slurred or muddled?

Time – Time to call 999

Other signs

  • sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body
  • difficulty finding words
  • sudden blurred vision or loss of sight
  • sudden confusion, dizziness or unsteadiness
  • a sudden and severe headache
  • difficulty understanding what others are saying
  • difficulty swallowing

For more information visit the Stroke Association’s website here.

Carol has also suffered memory loss and is paralysed down the left side of her body
Triangle News

Nancy is now preparing to care for her loved one when she finally returns home on November 15.

The pair are barely surviving off Nancy’s pension and money earned from her 10 hours a week in a GP surgery after semi-retiring earlier this year.

Nancy said she will struggle to work more hours because of how fragile her wife is.

She is now fundraising for home equipment including an electric wheelchair to make Carol’s life easier.

The couple will continue living in Cornwall – despite Nancy’s family being in Uckfield, East Sussex.

She said: “My children said I can’t go now this has happened.

“But I really wanted to do what Carol wanted and what was best for her. I said to her ‘do you still want to move to Cornwall’ and she said yes.

“So I have done it for her but it has made it very hard for me because I don’t have any support locally.”

Carol and Nancy were at the wedding of Nancy’s daughter Yvonne
Katie Battie/Triangle News

Nancy said she is hoping Carol will be allowed home later this week after months in hospital
Katie Battie/Triangle News

Around 100,000 people every year have a stroke and roughly 15,000 of them are caused by a bleed in the brain.

Dominic Brand, executive director for external affairs at the Stroke Association, said: “When an artery tears in the brain, oxygen can’t get to your brain cells and they start to die.

“We know that trauma can cause this to happen, but there isn’t enough research to tell us why.

“The best thing you can do to reduce your risk of stroke is to regularly monitor and get help to manage your blood pressure, reduce your alcohol intake and keep active.

“The brain is the control centre for who we are and what we can do. The impact of stroke could be anything from wiping out your speech and physical abilities, to affecting your emotions and personality.

“We know that a lot of people have problems with adjusting to life after stroke, so it’s really important that families, friends and health professionals who support stroke survivors understand what it means to live with the effects of stroke, ask how people are feeling, and provide them with the appropriate emotional and psychological support.”

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