A MOTHER-of-two who suffered a stroke at the age of 31 has told how every day she spends with her family is a blessing.

Emma Reed, who also has stage four kidney disease, was at a children's party on World Stroke Day in October when she suddenly felt faint and collapsed to the floor.

Mrs Reed, from Corringham, said: “The next thing I knew I was sat in a chair slumped while my mother-in-law thought I had fainted.

“I remember paramedics saying they thought I had just had a panic attack, but everything was distant.

“I knew I hadn’t had a panic attack but I could hardly communicate to them.

“I eventually showed them I couldn’t move my arm which is when they rushed me to Basildon Hospital.”

Doctors said the stroke had been caused by a string of health complications.

Mrs Reed, a business owner, said she was suffering high cholesterol and blood pressure alongside kidney disease.

Recovering on a hospital bed, she felt overwhelmed as she realised how close she came to dying and leaving behind her husband and two sons, aged seven and ten.

Now, despite suffering severe kidney disease, Mrs Reed said she feels "blessed" to be alive.

She will soon undergo dialysis or a kidney transplant, for which she has two living donors.

She said: “I have constant pins and needles down the right hand side of my body.

“I’ve also lost my peripheral vision, meaning I have to move my head to read a book.

“But knowing I have a second chance lets me smile every day.”

Mrs Reed has joined a new support group to help stroke survivors in Basildon.

The Working Age Stroke Group has been created by the Stroke Association to provide a place for people to meet fellow survivors and share their stories.

They will meet every other Monday at the Towngate Theatre cafe, in St Martins Square, at 10am.

Mrs Reed added: “I couldn’t believe I had had a stroke at such a young age.

“In hospital, I soon realised just how many young stroke survivors there are, and how helpful it is to speak to others of a similar age.”

For more information on the group, call 01702 543602 or email Michelle.Turner@stroke.org.uk