A TALENTED swimmer from Pinner who had her Olympic dreams dashed by a stroke as a teenager has spoken for the first time about her determination to fulfil her academic ambitions.
Rianne Smith, 19, of Rickmansworth Road, was a prodigy in the pool - and hoped to one day star for Team GB - before she suffered the stroke five years ago in September 2009 while recovering from routine knee surgery for cartilage damage.
She said: “I was at home and my vision went then everything went black and my mum took me to A&E.
“I spent three to four weeks in hospital.
“I was a bit panicky at first because I didn’t know what was wrong with me.
“The feeling in my right side wasn’t completely lost.
“It was very weak and as I had had the knee operation I couldn’t walk properly and my arm was weak as well.
“My speech was quite slurred and I forgot a lot of things at the beginning.
“The rehab was gruelling.”
Rianne was diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome - a disorder of the immune system that causes an increased risk of blood clots - and has a form of lupus, an autoimmune disease.
This led to months of rehabilitation at Northwick Park Hospital in Watford Road, Harrow, to strengthen her right hand side.
She underwent physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, hydrotherapy and occupational therapy as well as a daily blood test.
Although she missed months of school at Haydon School in Eastcote, she still managed to gain 10 GCSEs, performed well in her A-levels and won a place to study biomedical science at Aston University in Birmingham.
Before the stroke she had trained six days a week at Dormers Wells Leisure Centre in Ealing and Gurnell Leisure Centre in Greenford with Ealing Swimming Club - the UK's largest swimming club - and had taken part in regional competitions and at least once participated in a meet in Germany.
Rianne said: “I started a bit later than other people my age so I was still catching up but I set myself the goal of getting to the Olympics. “I was quite let down I wouldn’t be able to do that.
“It had been tough training and now I have recovered I am too far behind others my age.
“The first time I went swimming I was quite nervous because I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it but my mum said that you don’t forget how to swim.”
Rianne has had support from her family, twin brother Nathan, dad Junior and mother Carol, with whom she moved from The Heights, Northolt, to Pinner just six months before the stroke.
Carol said: “She made a really good recovery, she finds some things harder than before but she gets on with it and does her best.
“I think it was her determination. She never complains.”
Rianne, who is now in her first year at university, said: “Ever since I was little I have wanted to be a doctor and since recovering from being ill that has become stronger.
“I am quite interested in my own condition and I want to be able to help others with my condition.
“Being at university is a really good experience, even just being independent is great.
“I have always been independent but it is different moving out and doing everything myself.”
