That Time a Migraine Aura Sent Me to the Hospital

A friend recently reminded me of something I hadn’t completely forgotten… but definitely tucked away in the “that was terrifying and I don’t ever want to relive it” corner of my mind: my unexpected trip to the hospital back in November 2019, when I truly thought I was having a stroke.

Her husband had just experienced a migraine aura for the first time, and as she shared what happened, the memory of my own experience bubbled back up.

I had never had a migraine in my life.
Sure, I’d had bad headaches before. But nothing — nothing — like what people who suffer from migraines had ever described to me.

That day, out of nowhere, the right side of my head went numb. I reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear (something I’ve done a million times without thinking) and instantly realized my ear was completely numb.
Then the numbness spread: my face, my neck, my shoulder, arm, hand, fingers.
My thinking fogged. My body felt wrong in a way I couldn’t make sense of.

My first thought?
“I’m having a stroke.”

I don’t mess around with symptoms like that. I went straight to the hospital.

They ran every test imaginable including scans, bloodwork, neurological checks. I was there the entire day and into the night, exhausted and scared, still numb, still unsure what was happening.

And then, the next morning, the doctor finally walked in and said something I had never heard of:

“This wasn’t a stroke. You experienced a migraine aura.”

A migraine aura.
A neurological event I barely knew existed — and certainly didn’t know could mimic a stroke so convincingly that even the hospital staff had to rule out the worst before landing on it.

When I told my friend this, she asked, “Do you think stress might have been involved?”
That’s exactly what they assumed for her husband.

And honestly?
Yes.
That week in 2019 was bananas. Stress everywhere, in everything, all the time. Looking back, it makes complete sense that my body threw up a flare.

Fast-forward six years — do I still deal with stress? Absolutely. I’m human. I run a business. I’m a mom. Life is… life.

But do I handle it better now? One hundred percent.
The work I teach my clients, you know, clearing physical clutter, releasing mental clutter, understanding emotional clutter — has helped me create space inside my own brain.
Space to think.
Space to breathe.
Space to respond instead of panic.

Because when your environment settles, your nervous system settles with it.

And please hear me on this:

If you ever experience possible stroke symptoms — even if you think it might be a migraine — GO.

• Face drooping

• Arm weakness or numbness

• Speech difficulty

• Time to call 911

Other red flags include sudden:

• numbness or tingling on one side

• severe headache

• trouble walking

• confusion

• vision changes

• difficulty understanding or speaking

Could it be a migraine aura? Yes.
Could it be a stroke? Also yes.

This is not the moment to “wait and see.” GO.

I’m grateful I went. I’m grateful it wasn’t a stroke. And I’m grateful my friend shared her husband’s story, because it reminded me how common this can be — and how often stress is lurking underneath.

And if reducing your stress is something you want to prioritize as we head into a new year…

Join me on New Year’s Day for my Clutter-Free Reset Workshop.

We’ll clear the mental and physical clutter that’s been weighing you down and create the space you need to start 2026 with more ease, more calm, and more breathing room.

Register here:
New Year’s Day Clutter-Free Reset — Reserve Your Spot

Here’s to not letting stress choose our reactions — and giving ourselves the space to live, think, and breathe more lightly.