As a healthcare worker, you would think that 43-year-old Stuart Anderson would recognise that he was unwell and that he was at risk for a stroke. But there were no warning signs. Mr. Anderson had only been married four months when he suffered a massive stroke last November 3. Doctors in Bermuda and overseas ran extensive tests but are still unable to tell the Andersons what prompted the stroke.

A physiotherapy assistant at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Mr. Anderson met his wife Sandra there when she started as a locum speech therapist in 2004.

She was at his side when the stroke hit and gives a more accurate account than her husband of what actually took place. He suffered a brainstem stroke that is among the most severe and left him at times unconscious, sometimes disoriented and confused. Today doctors, family and friends are amazed at his full recovery.

His wife said: “This sort of stroke frequently kills people or leaves them paralysed and wheelchair bound.”

He recalled what happened. “I was getting ready to come to work. I felt great and there was no indication that anything was wrong. Then I had the most intense headache. I thought I had a slipped disc in my neck,” he said.

Mr. Anderson said he quickly realised the situation was serious and his wife called 911. He remembers the ambulance arriving and said he walked unaided to the stretcher.

“When I was in the ambulance my entire left side went weak and I thought I might die,” he said. But he said he was not afraid. “Being scared did not factor in at all. Working in the hospital I see death all the time. In my mind it was bizarre to see all my colleagues come in to wish me well. I could feel that they were upset and soon I felt my body’s resources slipping away,” he said.

At this time his body shut down and was functioning minimally. His wife said he never lost consciousness. The ambulance brought Mr. Anderson to KEMH at 8.30 a.m. but his condition worsened and he was air ambulanced at 8 p.m. that night to Boston’s Lahey Clinic.

At Lahey an MRI showed that he had a bleed into the back of his brain but luckily not an aneurysm (burst blood vessel) that would have required surgery.

The bleed had caused small blockages or infarcts that affected his vision. Through one eye he saw double images. The weakness and slight paralysis on his left side were a direct result of the bleeding. He also had great difficulty breathing.

Mr. Anderson’s condition was compounded because he was on prescription medication to thin his blood. The blood was too thin and contributed to the extensive bleeding.

Doctors tried to counter the effects of the blood thinners, but that caused fluid to accumulate on the brain and heart. These conditions can lead to congestive heart failure. Mr. Anderson has a congenital heart defect and had had heart valve replacement ten years previously.

His breathing deteriorated and after 36 hours he was placed on a respirator.

“I remember counting 32 lines attaching him to various machines. There were IVs (intravenous drips) catheters and instruments that had him monitored closely. They did a lot of blood testing,” his wife said.

Mr. Anderson had his blood drawn about every 90 minutes. Medical staff would wake him to take the samples and the experience left him tired and so confused that he became psychotic having vivid hallucinations.

“I had a feeling that I was going to be a goner ... at death’s door. The feeling was intense. All my resources were depleted. You either fight to live or that’s it,” he added.

“I saw that the mirror in his room was really confusing for him and asked if he could be moved to a room with a window.” said his wife. “As soon as he was moved he said to me, ‘I think we’ve come to the other side’.”

Mr. Anderson’s condition worsened so he was put into a medically induced coma. After three or four days he began to see the physiotherapist. He said he realised at that point that he had to work hard at having a full recovery. “ I wasn’t lamenting anything,” he said.

On the fifth day his wife said she noticed that he was having extreme difficulty breathing. “He would point to the tube,” she said. But she said despite her medical background she had to work hard at convincing any of the staff to check the tube and machine. “Finally I got a nurse who was supportive and she pulled the tube and when she did it was clogged with mucous.” The tube was cleaned and reinserted but after a week had clogged again.

Mr. Anderson explained that it was extremely difficult for him to hold his breath so that the tube could be removed. “I had to hold my breath and it was as if I couldn’t do it because I had not had enough air. I could feel the stuff coming out of me like Jell-O and I looked at my wife as if I couldn’t do it. I concentrated on the music. It took all my energy and concentration,” he said.

Mrs. Anderson said she and the nurse both pulled out about a cup and a half of mucous in a process that took a long minute and a half.

“As soon as the mucous came I felt better and took a nap,’ said Mr. Anderson.

Now able to breathe easier, talk and move his left side, Mr. Anderson began to complain that his throat and nasal membranes were sore and irritated.

“When he started complaining they sent him from the Intensive Care Unit to a general ward,” his wife said.

“The feeling is that if you are well enough to complain you are too well to be in the ICU,” Mr. Anderson said.

As soon as he was on a general ward Mr. Anderson felt strong enough to stand. As a trained physiotherapy assistant he said he had to remind himself of all the instructions he gives to his patients. “I had to remind myself not to throw my hip forward and as I walked I talked to myself about proper technique,” he said.

But his recuperation took a set back when doctors discovered he had a heart infection. Strong antibiotics were prescribed and administered in an IV in a vein directly servicing his heart. After a month doctors at Lahey allowed him to transfer to Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in downtown Boston.

Mr. Anderson made the trip on a stretcher with the special IV still in his arm.

“When I arrived, I was given a wheelchair and a commode,” said. Mr. Anderson. “When I saw the wheelchair with my name on it I felt I had a major challenge.”

At Spaulding a team of professionals including an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist and a speech therapist worked with Mr. Anderson on a plan of therapy.

“Being in the profession I realised there comes a time when you have to take responsibility for getting things done. Because I was still weak and unsteady, my wife and I worked together on my exercises whenever we could. You have to practice — especially in stroke rehabilitation,” he said.

And his practising paid off in a relatively short period of time. Two and a half weeks later and in a snowstorm, he walked out of Spaulding unaided.

Once back in Bermuda, he maintained a strict exercise regimen with the help of a local physiotherapist Kim McMullen and occupational therapist Helen Aphantitis.

Mr. Anderson returned to work in the Physiotherapy department at KEMH in August — ten months after the stroke. He and wife Sandra still regularly work out at Mangoes gym in Somerset. And a year later, there is no evidence that he ever had a stroke.