was it the artery bleeding that caused the stroke?

Yep. I don't know how I got the dissection in the first place, but my neck had been sore for a few weeks. Problem was, I was renovating the house, so a sore neck was expected.

My mum had a traumatic brain injury last year, and had to relearn everything. (work in progress)

Sorry to hear. It is a hard thing to deal with, because it affects everyone differently and often, it is hard to see just what is affected. It took me a week after to realize that my brain wasn't making mental images at all. I can imagine things, but it isn't automatic now. It makes reading, learning and recall very difficult.

I was an COVID ICU nurse in Brisbane during pandemic, the things i saw....

Thongs, dirty barefeet, people from the Gold Coast?

I jest, but yeah, I can imagine it wasn't a great time.

What happened to your hand?