NIA TYLER WAS SETTLING IN FOR HER FINAL YEAR AT UNIVERSITY WHEN SHE WOKE UP WITH A HEADACHE. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT LEFT HER SHELL-SHOCKED AND SHE IS STILL LIVING WITH THE EFFECTS TODAY 04:00,

01 Jun 2025 Nia Tyler was like most other people her age. Then 20, she had just made her way from her home in Ammanford to the Royal Holloway University in Surrey to begin her final year of

studies. She was excited to be back at university with friends and was looking forward to getting her degree in psychology. But within a few days, her life would completely change. After a

busy 'refreshers' week Nia woke up on a Saturday morning with a severe headache. "It was extremely painful - like nothing I'd ever experienced before,” Nia explained.

it was as if I was in so much pain that my body needed to shut down," she said. Realising something was definitely wrong, Nia called 111 on the Sunday evening and went to see an

out-of-hours GP. Nia was told she was probably just hungover and was sent away with painkillers. While some of the pain subsided, the symptoms persisted with Nia being left unable to see

properly, being sick and experiencing balance problems when doing simple things like trying to get up and go to the toilet. Her mum came to stay in Surrey to help look after her, but due to

how unwell Nia was, after a few days they decided to travel home to Ammanford. Article continues below "My mum was leading me through Reading station with a sleep mask over my eyes

because I was so light-sensitive and she had to hold my arm to help my balance," she said. Nia saw medical professionals back home, but the true seriousness of what was happening was

still missed. Nia was prescribed antibiotics because health staff thought she had a urine infection due to swelling in her ear. She then went to the opticians to be checked on Friday, where

an optician noticed that there was swelling on the optic nerve and sent her to the hospital. After she and her mum pushed for a brain scan, she eventually had a CT scan on Saturday morning -

a week after the headache first started. "They could see then that there was a blood clot on the brain, which meant that I'd had a stroke," Nia said. Receiving this news, Nia

was “numb”. "I was genuinely so in shock that I don’t think I really processed it." Looking back six years on Nia, now 26, feels that a lot of her symptoms were probably dismissed

due to how young she was. She said: "It's no disrespect to the medical professionals themselves because they have obviously did the best job they could with the information and

training they are given." She said one doctor, after her diagnosis was revealed, "was a bit emotional and apologised. He said my symptoms were textbook but because of my age he

didn’t suspect a stroke. "It’s no disrespect to them as there’s not enough information out there about strokes in young people." After it was confirmed Nia had had a stroke, she

was immediately put on blood thinners and stayed in hospital for two weeks, still experiencing balance and vision problems as well as sickness. As well as the physical challenges her

recovery posed, Nia explained she faced mental battles due to feeling like she was the only young person in her situation. "I’ve since found people who were a similar age to me when

they suffered a stroke, but at the time I felt like I was the only person," she said. "It was particularly hard because of university too. I had to drop out but all of my friends

were still going out, enjoying themselves, partying, and doing their courses too. "I couldn't drive so I spent so much time literally just laying on the couch trying to recuperate,

mustering up the energy to get myself a cup of tea. I felt really alone, isolated and frustrated. I don’t think the sadness set in until much later." The true realisation of what had

happened hit Nia almost two years later. Her stroke happened in October 2019, so Nia said she was able to use the Covid pandemic to slowly build her strength back up without too much

pressure. A year on she returned to university, but as lectures were online the impact of the stroke was still hidden. " I could sleep during lectures if I needed to and then catch up

later. I didn't have to physically walk anywhere and I didn’t have to go out to socialise as I was living in a house with friends in Cardiff. "It was only after when I got my first

full-time office job did I realise how disabled I actually was. The world was back to normal and I felt exhausted all the time and couldn’t concentrate like I used to. I became a complete

zombie and was a different version of myself.” She then said she got trapped in a "vicious cycle”. "I’d realised that physically I was worse, so my mental health suffered,"

Nia explained. "I think your 20s is such a pivotal time for looking at what other people are doing and feeling like you need to meet certain timescales - you think you have to finish

uni, get a proper job, think about getting in a relationship, buying a house or travelling and doing bonkers stuff before you settle down. I just felt like I was left behind. "I thought

I'd never get better." However, one thing that helped Nia to pull herself out of this "vicious cycle" was music. "Singing has always been therapy for me," she

said. "But after the stroke, I couldn’t sing. It would give me a headache. There was too much pressure." When she could finally sing again, Nia said it was like reclaiming a piece

of herself. Realising "how short life is", she decided that she would turn this passion into her career. Nia, who is now based in Cardiff, performs at private events, charity

galas, corporate functions and even competed in the first Welsh series of The Voice. "I didn’t get to the final," she smiled, "but do you know what? I’m still here. Still

singing. Still living." For Stroke Awareness month, Nia is taking part in the Sing4Stroke and raising money for the Stroke Association. You can donate to her JustGiving page here.

Research from the Stroke Association has found that a third of stroke survivors can sing better than speaking soon after their stroke. The ability for music to help people who may struggle

with communication is something that Nia sees first hand in her work with The Forget Me Not Chorus, singing in care homes with people living with dementia. "It’s one of my favourite

things,” she said. "Music connects everyone — even people who struggle to speak still light up when they sing." To this day, Nia still is impacted by her stroke. She has migraines,

light sensitivity, concentration problems and "mild aphasia". "I will often lose my train of thought or forget words, but the chronic fatigue is the most debilitating,"

she explained. She wants to raise awareness of strokes and the range of symptoms to look out for, especially for other young people who may be stroke survivors. "It's so important

to know you're not alone," she said. Article continues below "Even though it feels like you are, you will eventually find people who you can relate to. It does get better even

though it can seem like the world is ending." GET DAILY BREAKING NEWS updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers,

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