Inside Australia's Stroke

I read a story today in Huffington’s Post which made me feel still too… young. These people were looking after their “old” parents with various disease like Alzheimers and dementia, ranged from age 63, 59, 56, 55, 54, 53, 52, 51, 50 and just one 29. That last person made me read it. It was so much like me. This 29 year old woman is looking after her mother who had a stroke and has aphasia.

I lived alone before my surgery - for the first time in 56 years. I was dealing with being alone, my ex-husband had left to move back to New Zealand, and I was getting on okay with it. I joined a MeetUp group who met at a local hotel for trivia, made a couple of new friends, met another woman who had joined me in the play “The Vagina Monologues”, met a woman who danced with me in One Billion Rising. Friendships.

But I was diagnosed with my brain aneurysm in July 2013, went into hospital for a surgery in April 2014 – and came out after a stroke.  It caused my aphasia. I have ABI and haven’t worked for two and a half years now.

In the Webster’s online dictionary “Ageism” is defined as “discrimination against middle-aged and elderly people”. In a Bupa web page called The Blue Room a psychologist listed the effects on a survivor’s body, mind and emotions, but didn’t talk about how a stroke survivor can be supported by their family. ABC’sHealth gave health symptoms about a number of body functions, including a stroke, but didn’t talk at all about how a stroke survivor might need a carer. 

National Stroke Foundation lists the top 10 facts about stroke. They include that stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers; 1 in 6 people will have a stroke sometime during their life; a stroke happens every 10 minutes;  stroke kill more women than breast cancer and men’s prostate cancer; 30% are working people; and 65% of stroke survivors need care. 

Do the maths. In 2015 there were 440,000 strokes, including 30% - 132,000 - of people who worked. Only 35% of all stroke survivors return to their “normal” life – 154,000. Only 30% - 46,200 of 154,000 - might have returned to their jobs. The rest, 286,000 needed care. 

I don’t know how a stroke hit a worker compared to the older person, but the percentage works out what we need to know – or think about. The 286,000 needed care. Do they get that? Who provides care? 

Chris Bath, in an article in SMH in 2013, said “The big reason I think we don't hear enough about stroke … is because it's difficult for stroke victims to come forward, it's difficult for them to communicate …” and that carers can be the “untold story”. Unfortunately, there are too many stroke survivors who live alone and still don’t have a carer. 

Last year I went to a workshop in Synapse about NDIS and there was a lot of discussion by people who worked for other organisations to help disabled people. Since then I have looked over the NDIS website and I’m still confused about NDIS. I’ve heard different stuff about this – including that the government doesn’t like that it’s not Federal – it’s run by each state or territory government. This government has cut far too much income away from DSP, and cut too many people on DSP off and dropped them onto Newstart. That won’t help any person on DSP! But what interests me is the NDIS meeting in Sherwood Room of Brisbane Hall on Monday 18^th April, at 10am. People who have survived their stroke should register to come, regardless whether or not you are fully under care or just surviving alone. Have a look through the page about this meeting.

The fact that stroke is the third leader for death should be getting us into educating everyone on what a stroke is, who it can harm and how the survivor might need care. If you know anyone who has had a stroke, support them, educate other people… and keep fighting!