'I thought I was just hungover' - the women who suffered strokes in their 20s and became friends

Mererid Rees was a performer based in Dubai, when her whole life changed within seconds and she was left unable to move the right side of her body.

While having breakfast with friends, she described how she went from "laughing to screaming" after she had a brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) at 26.

She is not alone, with Nia Tyler suffering a stroke when she was 20, despite thinking she was just hungover.

Experts say there is a misconception only older people are affected by strokes, but about one in 150 strokes occur in someone under 20.

Along with Cari Davies, 28, they live with the long-term effects and want to help others "find people who understand" through a ball they are set to host.

Mererid, 30, from Lampeter, Ceredigion, was a performer at Global Village in Dubai for more than four years when her whole world turned upside.

After having a brain AVM while out for breakfast, she was rushed to hospital by ambulance and was in an intensive care unit for 10 days.

During this time, her sister Sioned Allan, who was back in Wales, was told she "urgently needed an operation or would die".

"They found an AVM and a burst aneurysm, and then they found an aneurysm that was just about to burst," Mererid said.

"[It] still blows my mind that someone operated on my brain."

An AVM rupture happens when a tangle of abnormal blood vessels in the brain burst and spill blood into the surrounding brain tissue.

AVMs are mostly found in the brain and spinal cord, and most people are born with them, but they can form later in life.

Like Mererid, some people show no symptoms until they experience bleeding resulting in a stroke.

After leaving Dubai, Mererid spent six months on the stroke ward in Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.

She spent months - which at times were physically and mentally draining - learning how to walk again and adapting to daily tasks with her injuries.

Mererid said her walking had come on "leaps and bounds" but she still "can't really feel" the right side of her body.

"I had radiotherapy, that's to get rid of the AVM, but it takes five years to get rid of," she explained.

"That kills healthy cells off, so I've lost my right-hand-side eyesight.

"I've lost the peripheral vision, so yeah pretty, pretty blind."

Mererid said having a stroke at a young age could be isolating, as it was "hard for able-bodied people to understand".

She added that "it's just so important for people to know that there are other people in the same boat as them" and "important for people to find people that get it".

She first met Cari Davies, 28, at Glangwilli hospital after a nurse on the ward told her there was "another young person here".

Cari, a former teacher from Carmarthen, was initially diagnosed with Lupus before having a stroke in February 2022 and spent a month in hospital.

Mererid said: "She was really poorly, so I didn't want to intrude but I wanted to help her out. So I gave her an affirmation card."

Affirmation cards are small cards featuring positive slogans or messages and gifting them is a way of showing someone support.

Cari said: "I was really negative, it was just really awful and I was just crying all the time, but Mererid was a beacon of positivity - we've just built a friendship from there."

The pair later became friends with Nia Tyler, 27, through social media. She suffered a stroke at 20 after initially thinking she was hungover.

The professional singer, who lives in Cardiff, said she felt really isolated after she had a stroke while at university studying psychology in 2019.

Nia said: "I've now got friends who were in a super similar situation, and we're all stroke survivors.

"Even though our stories are very different, there's... some unwritten understanding that there's some kind of sisterhood amongst the three of us.

"My relationship with Cari and Mez does mean a lot."

The three women also climbed 200 steps of the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in May, which Mererid said was a reminder that "recovery doesn't just rebuild your body", but "confidence too".

Shakeel Ahmad, national clinical lead for stroke in Wales, said "approximately 10,000-20,000 people under the age of 50 experience a stroke in the UK every year, accounting for around 10-15% of all strokes".

"Around one in every 150 strokes occurs in someone under the age of 20," he added.

Ahmad explained that it was vital stroke patients reached hospital quickly as "some can receive clot-busting medication (thrombolysis) or clot removal treatment (thrombectomy) within a critical four to six hour window".

In younger people, the "devastated condition" was more often associated with "underlying medical conditions, blood clotting disorders or abnormalities in the blood vessels".

He added: "Recognising the signs of stroke using FAST [face, arms, speech, time] and calling emergency services immediately can save lives and reduce long-term disability."

The three women will be hosting an event in October for young stroke survivors at The Angel Hotel in Cardiff.

Mererid said many people from across the UK - and even the US - had been in touch to say they wished they had something like this near them.

The women said it was a "celebration" of their journeys and also to "connect" with other young stroke survivors.

Their fundraiser has raised more than £2,000 so far which will be used towards the event.

Katie Chappelle, associate director for Wales at charity Stroke Association, said: "Community events like this can play a vital role in helping people rebuild confidence, reduce isolation and realise that life after stroke is still possible."