The 47-year-old had been out the night before with friends but had only drunk two pints.
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It was just months before her wedding, and little did she know at that point that she might not make it down the aisle.
The ‘migraine’ Nikki was suffering turned out to be a stroke.
She was rushed to hospital where she suffered a further stroke, and went on to have half her skull removed and had to learn to walk again.
It was her determination to tie the knot to soulmate Andrew Goode, 41, five months after her stroke, that kept her going each day.
Nikki, who works as operations coordinator for The Open University, had almost finished planning her and her fiancé’s big day when she suffered an uncommon and very serious type of stroke, leaving her completely paralysed on one side.
She said: “I’d been out for dinner and drinks with the girls and had a great time chatting about mine and Andrew’s forthcoming wedding.
“Our big day was five months away – in March 2014 – and I’d organised most of it, including our gorgeous country barn venue and the dress of my dreams.
“But in the morning, I couldn’t think of anything except how bad my head was.
“I hoped a shower might help and was about to turn on the water when I felt a searing pain, like a mini explosion in my head.
“I collapsed into the bath and everything went black.”
When Nikki came around, she couldn’t talk or feel her left side.
She was rushed to hospital and sent straight into surgery where she suffered another bleed on the brain.
She had to have half her skull removed to save her life, before being put into a medically induced coma.
Afterwards, she was so bruised, swollen and bandaged that her mum didn’t recognise her on the ward.
Nikki said: “I could hear doctors talking about me and my fiancé, my mum and dad’s voices, and the noises of the machines.
“I wanted to scream: ‘I can hear you!’, but it was like I was trapped in my own body.”
‘MIRACLE SURVIVAL’
A week later, she came around and doctors said it was a miracle Nikki had survived.
“They explained I’d had an uncommon and serious subarachnoid haemorrhagic stroke and had been taken straight into theatre to have metal coils fitted in my head, to block blood flow to the aneurysm.
“But during surgery I’d suffered a second stroke, so to save my life I’d needed half of my skull removed.”
Nikki refused to cancel her wedding, saying: “I will walk down the aisle.”
Two weeks later, she had her picture taken for a Facebook post, so friends could see how she was doing.
“It was the first time I’d seen myself since the stroke.
“My long blonde hair had been shaved on one side and my head stitched up.
“There was a dip where the skull had been removed, but luckily it wasn’t too obvious.”
With her left side paralysed, Nikki was keen to start physio.
“I was keen to get started but I felt nauseous. Every time I tried to move I was sick.
“It was four weeks after my stroke that I was finally able to stand up.
“It felt like a huge achievement, but I had a long way to go.
“A chaplain came to see me and Andrew, and told us we could get married in the hospital.
“But we said no. We wanted to do it as we’d planned.”
Ten days after Nikki had learned to stand, she was moved to a rehab hospital where she started full physiotherapy.
“I pushed myself to the limit with physio and occupational therapy twice a week, until I finally took my first steps.
“The day I walked, I surprised Andrew and my father-in-law by getting up out of my wheelchair and walking towards them using a stick.
“I cried like a baby, and they were both in floods of tears too,” she said.
PERFECT DAY
Nikki also continued finalising plans for the big day.
“I organised the rest of our wedding from my hospital bed,” she said.
“The venue owners visited me, and we chose red and green ribbons for the chairs.
“Then the woman who made our wedding cake popped in with an afternoon tea for us.”
When Nikki next saw her reflection, the swelling had gone down revealing a large dent.
“Half my head was missing,” she said. “I imagined standing next to Andrew looking how I did and burst into tears.
“But it only made me more determined.”
After four months in hospital, Nikki was discharged with four weeks to go until the wedding.
Because she’d lost three stone, she got her dress re-fitted. Then on the morning of their wedding, at Pencoed House Estate, Wales, Nikki wore a floral headband gifted by the boutique owner where she got her dress, to cover the dent in her head.
“I put my stick to the side and with the help of my brother and dad, I walked down the aisle,” she said.
“I cried when everyone turned around to look at me and Andrew was at the end sobbing.
“I was so happy to finally stand by his side. I felt proud of what I had achieved.”
Almost ten years on from that life-changing day, Nikki lives with an acquired brain injury and has weakness on her left side, unable to move her toes at all.
After the wedding she had a metal plate fitted in her head, which unfortunately caused her to develop epilepsy – but she still feels grateful.
“Our wedding day was exhausting, but the most magical memory. I’m lucky I even survived to be able to tell the tale.
“It is scary to think I could have another stroke and doctors have told me I can’t have children – it’s too risky for my health.
“Instead, I dote on our dog Buster and cat Bod, as well as our wonderful nieces and nephews.
“When I had the stroke, the doctors had to cut me out of my pyjamas.
“Andrew decided to keep them and said as long as he had them, he knew I would come back to him – and I did.
“I knew then more than ever that Andrew was the man I wanted to marry.
“Our wedding day was the ultimate goal in my recovery and kept me going even during the hardest times.
“Now I try not to dwell on the risks but live in the moment, feeling grateful for what I have, not what I haven’t.”
Stroke Association can offer support, visit stroke.org.uk.
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