'It was a scary feeling': Saskatoon man shares story of having a stroke at 29

In 2019, Philip Eagle woke up in the late afternoon feeling “disoriented and groggy” and wasn’t able to get up from his bed.

Eagle says he tried to crawl to the bathroom and wasn’t able to get into the shower by himself.

“That’s when I knew something was really wrong,” Eagle told CTV News.

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Being 29 years old at the time, having a stroke wasn’t something on his mind or something he thought could happen at his age.

Eagle went to the hospital alone in Red Deer since his kids and wife were back home in Saskatoon. He remembers the nurse asking him basic questions about himself such as his birthday and health card information.

“I remember being very confused and crying and really not understanding what was happening around me and it was scary, it was a scary feeling,” Eagle said.

After a CT and MRI, doctors confirmed he had a stroke. Eagle later found out he had a hole in his heart from birth that led to a blood clot. He’s since had surgery to fix it.

Eagle says he lost mobility on his left side and was able to recover after six to eight months. He says most of the long-term effects from the stroke were cognitive.

“I lost the ability to process emotion and I couldn't process any stimulation at all, light, sound. I really couldn’t read, there were too many words on the page,” he said.

Eagle recalls going to a grocery and called it a “terrible experience.” However, he ended up using that setting as rehab to get used to stimulation. He said reading the prices of three different pieces of cheese would “send him into a crying fit on the floor.”

Dr. Brett Graham, a stroke neurologist in Saskatoon, says strokes are the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of acquired disability among adults in Canada. Despite major advances in stroke research, it’s still on the rise.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, there are more than 2,500 strokes in Saskatchewan every year.

“We’re seeing more strokes in younger adults as well because of rising risk factors such as unhealthy weight, diabetes, hypertension and smoking as well,” Graham told CTV News.

New data from the foundation says three in 10 Saskatchewan residents don’t know the common signs of a stroke.

In 2014, the Heart and Stroke Foundation created “FAST,” an acronym for Canadians to recognize the signs of a stroke and how to help:

• Face - Is it drooping?
• Arms - can you raise them both?
• Speech - is it slurred or jumbled?
• Time - to call 911 right away

Graham says a stroke is a time-dependent emergency and the faster you are able to help yourself or a family member or friend, you can increase the ability to get timely treatment.

Eagle says he deals with anxiety and depression and needs to stick to a routine as he also suffers from short-term memory loss since the stroke. He calls it an “ongoing battle every day.”

Eagle says he still hasn’t been able to go back to work in the restaurant and bar industry and hopes one day he’s able to return to his career.

“Know that this really can happen to anybody but that doesn’t mean you’re alone,” Eagle said.

He says it’s also important for people who suffered a stroke to not compare their recovery story to someone else’s.

“As a person that's recovering from one, it can be very disheartening to hear this was their timeline and this is where they are, but this is my timeline and I’m not where I want to be.”