This website is about me, Ross Dismore, and this is my story. I was 25 years old when I had an Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) which resulted in a Stroke on the 14 March 2004. At the time of my AVM I was working as a web developer and systems analyst for a computer company.

Here is what happened....

It was the Sunday afternoon at about 5 o’clock. I was busy reading a book when suddenly I started feeling really weird. My body began to shake and I felt all light headed. My girlfriend at the time was busy sleeping in the bedroom and I had to call to her. She jumped up and came straight through to help me. She realised that something was seriously wrong because I couldn’t sit up properly and I couldn't speak. She went for help and found the next door neighbour.
While she was away I tried to stand up but my right hand side couldn’t support me. I fell off of the couch onto the floor. I had lost all feeling and movement in my right arm and legs. She came back with the neighbour and then both of them helped me to the car. From there I blanked out completed. She drove me to the Vincent Pallotti Hospital where they then admitted me to the casualty. I woke up a week later.

My memory for ICU and the first three weeks in Rehabilitation is like a lot of "snap shots". When I came to the UCT Private Hospital after the ICU I knew I was in a new place but I wasn't sure what was going on. I was at this rehabilitation for two months.

To help me do this website I've had to ask all my therapists for information on how I was right in the beginning. Because I still have lots of problems with spelling, writing properly and planning what and how I want to say something, my speech therapist has edited and helped me write most of the information on my website. Going back to work will be a challenge for me because of these areas of difficulty. 

This website is dedicated to my journey from my time in the ICU, through to my rehabilitation and beyond.