The healthy 35-year-old sneezed three times before he suffered an immediate blinding headache, ‘spinning’ dizziness and ‘severe shooting pain’ up his neck to the back of his head and left eye. Then, he contracted pins and needles that made his entire left side, including his face, go ‘numb.’
The father-of-one was rushed to the Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz where medics determined he had suffered a stroke, prompted by a tear in the inner lining of the vertebral artery in the back of his neck.
The artery supplies blood to the spinal cord and central nervous system.
It was later confirmed the force of Ian’s ‘violent’ sneeze had caused the near-fatal tear, which blocked his artery and sparked the incident.
Doctors gave him blood-thinning medication to prevent any further blood clots and kept him in ICU for 24 hours. However, the road to recovery remains long for the dad who is reportedly feeling ‘miserable’ from ‘setbacks.’
The engineer has been in hospital ever since the harrowing incident on February 9, as he is unable to swallow and needs help walking due to the damage on his left side.
He is expecting to undergo rehabilitative therapy to restore his muscles, which he hopes will see him finally return home before the birth of his second child, and first baby girl, this coming April.
Now, Ian is speaking out about his near-death experience, and his biggest concerns moving forward.
Reflecting on the incident, Ian said: “It was my first day back at work after being ill with the flu all week.
“After work, I went to go take care of our horses. I was in the truck and had just put our four-year-old into the car seat.
“I had just started the car and was getting ready to drive. I sneezed three times, then the third time it caused this blinding headache and made everything spin.”
Ian said he knew instantly he was having a stroke when he felt pins and needles and described the pain as ‘excruciating.’
“I was very disoriented and throwing up,” he added.
The ordeal has left him ‘scared to sneeze’ in the future, and he worries about how he will be able to take care of a newborn.
Ian said: “It was a pretty hard sneeze but I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life. I never thought this was possible.
“I’m scared to sneeze now. My wife is eight months pregnant and I want to be there for the delivery.”
Ian’s sister, Vanessa Applegate, has also launched a fundraiser to help the family pay medical bills and cover time off work and said in a series of updates that her brother is ‘miserable’ but ‘working as hard as he can to improve.’
Vanessa said in the GoFundMe that has raised more than $10,900 at the time of writing, that Ian’s medical episode ‘definitely could have been worse’ but said ‘only time will tell’ how long he will remain in hospital to recover.
Ian added: “I can tell I’m going to struggle to take care of myself and the baby.
“I just want to be home in time for the baby’s birth. I’m trying to stay positive and continue my exercises until I get better.”
