Double Vision After Stroke: What Jorden’s Story Reveals About Brainstem Stroke Recovery

Double Vision After Stroke: What Jorden’s Story Teaches Us About Brainstem Stroke Recovery

Double vision after stroke is one of those symptoms no one imagines they’ll ever face—until the day they wake up and the world has split in two. For many stroke survivors, it’s confusing, frightening, and completely disorienting. And when it happens as part of a brainstem stroke, like it did for 45-year-old attorney Jorden Ryan, it can mark the beginning of a long and unpredictable recovery journey.

In this article, we walk through Jorden’s powerful story, how double vision after stroke showed up in his life, and what other survivors can learn from the way he navigated setback after setback. If you’re living with vision changes or recovering from a brainstem stroke, this piece is for you.

The Morning Everything Changed

Jorden went to bed preparing for a big day at work. By morning, nothing made sense. When he opened his eyes, the room looked doubled—two phones, two walls, two versions of everything. He felt drunk, dizzy, and disconnected from his own body.

Double vision after stroke often appears suddenly, without warning. In Jorden’s case, it was the first sign that a clot had formed near an aneurysm in his brainstem.

As he tried to read his phone, he realised he couldn’t. As he tried to stand, he collapsed. And as nausea took over, his vision became just one of many things slipping away.

He didn’t know it then, but this was the beginning of a brainstem stroke recovery journey that would test every part of who he was.

When the Body Quits and the World Keeps Moving

Even when paramedics arrived, the situation remained confusing.
“You’re too young for a stroke,” they told him.
But the double vision, vomiting, and collapsing legs said otherwise.

By the time he reached the hospital, he was drifting in and out of consciousness. Inside the MRI, everything changed again—his left side stopped working completely. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t swallow. His ability to control anything was gone.

For many survivors, this is where the fear sets in—not only the fear of dying, but the fear of living this way forever.

Understanding Double Vision After Stroke

Double vision happens when the eyes no longer work together. After a stroke—especially a brainstem stroke—the nerves that control eye alignment can be affected.

Survivors often describe it the way Jorden did:

• blurry, overlapping images

• difficulty reading

• nausea when focusing

• a sense of being “detached” from reality

• exhaustion from trying to make sense of their surroundings

In Jorden’s case, double vision wasn’t the only issue, but it shaped everything that came after. It influenced his balance, his confidence, and even whether he felt safe leaving his home.

Three Weeks Missing: The Silent Part of Recovery

Jorden spent nearly three weeks in a coma-like state. Days blurred together. Friends visited. Family gathered. He remembers fragments, but not the whole chapter.

When he finally became more aware, nothing worked the way it used to—not his speech, not his swallow, not his limbs, and certainly not his vision.

This is something many survivors aren’t prepared for: