Introduction

Hi, I'm Michael, and I'm a stroke survivor.

In July 2022, I woke up one morning, threw back the doona, stood up, and realized that my right arm felt strange. So, I stood there shaking it, trying to figure out what had happened. My wife was watching me and asked, "Are you okay?" I turned to her to say "I'm fine," but instead, I said "rururururururururu." 

It suddenly dawned on me that something was seriously wrong, and I uttered "fuck" for the first time that day.

My wife called an ambulance, which arrived ten minutes later. Thirty minutes later, I was in the emergency room. That night, I was moved upstairs to the stroke ward for five days. That was followed by five weeks of daily rehabilitation to relearn how to speak and use my right hand, followed by nine weeks of twice-a-week rehabilitation.

Exactly one month after the stroke, during the intensive rehabilitation period, I had heart surgery to close the hole that had allowed the clot to reach my brain. Exactly one month after the heart surgery, I had an uncontrollable nosebleed and ended up back in the emergency room due to the powerful blood thinners.

I am still attending twice-a-week rehabilitation for speech and hand function, ten months later. This has been a life-changing event on many levels. Compared to many others, I was lucky. I have met stroke survivors who face much greater challenges every day. This website is for them, and it's as much for me. Not everyone has a voice. Nonetheless, this is my story.