Saving the 'Bloke Beside You' stroke survivors tell their stories

THIS Men's Health Week the Stroke Foundation has urged all Australians to know the signs of stroke including children and teenagers who are among those at risk.

Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Dr Lisa Murphy revealed 400 teenagers suffer a stroke every year and over 100 children under the age of one. “A quarter of all strokes affect people under the age of 65,” said Dr Murphy. “The data is confronting.”

Someone in Australia experiences a stroke every 11 minutes yet 2 in 5 Aussie men are unaware of what a stroke looks like, and 1 in 3 don’t know to call triple 000.

“Stroke can strike at any age, and we know that the faster people access treatment, the more likely they are to prevent death and disability,” Dr Murphy advised.

“We’re asking all Australians to look out for the Bloke Beside You. Your mate, your dad, your brother, your colleague and start a conversation about stroke.”

A typical teenage stroke survivor from regional Victoria vividly recalled his summer as a 16-year-old. “My days were full of sport, seeing friends and the everyday activities of a regular 16-year-old boy.” The young man’s body had other plans.

“I had just come off the treadmill and quickly felt a pounding headache. I began to lose all feeling in my left side. My speech was unusual, and my face dropped.”

The teenage boy was having a stroke and was immediately flown to the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne for treatment. It was the best place he could be. At 16 the recovery process for stroke can be incredibly isolating and confusing.

While peers were enjoying school holidays, rehabilitation meant spending time in an aged care facility far from home. Having a stroke as a teenager was more confusing than anything he had experienced to date. He was about to embark on his VCE, but with his whole world turned upside down it was hard to picture what his life would look like. The front of his brain had experienced most damage, impacting his ability to retain information, regulate his emotions and filter the thoughts in his mind.

Strokes can occur in all age groups, from newborns to older teenagers.

Over the last few years, the focus on childhood stroke has gained momentum, partly due to the advocacy of the Little Stroke Warrior Facebook community. Despite an historical lack of investment in paediatric stroke, this group of dedicated health professionals has been working hard to improve the delivery of stroke treatment for the young.

Most strokes (80%) are predictable according to researchers but in the teenage years there are often underlying issues such as heart disorders, blood clotting or problems with the blood vessels. “Everybody’s different,” said Dr Murphy.

“It often happens out of the blue and can change your life in an instant,” she said.

“From that moment the whole school community can be affected,”

Early symptoms in teenagers can include a weakness in one side of the body, poor co-ordination and dizziness. In babies a fever or extreme sleepiness can be early warning signs and as children get older it can be a weakness in one side, difficulty in talking, reading and writing or loss of vision.

“Life’s not going to be the same.” Dr Murphy warned.

“There can be added responsibility for parents as carers and financial stress with the need for wheelchairs in different sizes as children grow older.”

Recovery from a stroke can vary from very rapid to slow depending on how big the stroke was, where it was and how quickly it was treated. “The first few weeks and months are very difficult for everybody.”

You can call Stroke Foundation's StrokeLine Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm AEST on 1800 787 653 or strokeline@strokefoundation.org.au. StrokeLine is staffed by health professionals who take time to listen and provide information and support stroke survivors to find the services they need.