For Stroke Week, which runs from August 31 to September 6, Hayley shared her experience ahead of her move to Moama today (Friday, September 4), with husband Shaun, nine-year-old Lacey and Kade, 6.
Hayley, who is moving from Horsham, was 24 at the time of her stroke and is still coping with the long-term effects 15 years later.
For the primary school teacher, the first sign something was off was a painful headache that developed three days after the netball game, at work.
While at netball training that night, Hayley became unable to talk and was on her way to her car when she suddenly collapsed.
She spent the next four weeks at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne before later being transferred to Ballarat, and was there on and off for three months, receiving physio, occupational and speech therapy, as the stroke had left her unable to walk or talk.
Despite best efforts, 15 years later one of her arms remains non-functional and she wears a brace on one leg.
“I’m hoping in 10 years time that somebody will find a cure for my brain to get all the neurons and the messages back to my hand to start working again,” Hayley said.
However, she said her speech was back to 85 per cent of what it was.
“I think my daughter did all that for me when she was really young,” she said.
“She always used to ask me questions and I would to read to her, I just can’t believe my speaking has improved this much.”
Hayley returned to teaching last year, something she said she loved.
“It’s a blessing to have the children around me,” she said.
“The prep, grade one and twos don’t know anything’s different, but the grade four, five and sixes delve in a little more, so I say ‘Yep, I’ve had a stroke’ and explain what it is,” she said.
A lack of understanding from the public has seen Hayley face multiple people questioning her disability.
“I parked in the disabled section where I get my rehabilitation done and got out of the car and another person came and wound down their window and said ‘get out, you need to move, my wife can’t walk’,” she said.
“It’s just really bad, there’s no understanding, but I just keep on keeping on.”
Her message for other stroke survivors is to “be confident and determined”.
“It won’t take one day, it won’t take three months, it takes five years for the brain to heal,” she said.
Hayley is a Stroke Foundation StrokeSafe speaker and gives talks to community groups and workplaces.
“I really love it, it’s a relief to talk about what I’ve been through,” she said.
For Stroke Week the Stroke Foundation is highlighting the importance of recognising the F.A.S.T. signs of stroke.
Face: has their mouth drooped? Arms: can they lift both arms? Speech: is their speech slurred? Time: time is critical.
Stroke Foundation Victorian state manager Eamonn O’Toole said a stroke could happen to anyone at any time.
“When a stroke happens, brain cells start dying at a frightening rate of up to 1.9 million per minute, but medical treatments can stop this damage,” he said.
“The message is simple — time is brain. The faster you can be treated after stroke, the more chance you have of making a full recovery.”
The vital first step in accessing these treatments is recognising the F.A.S.T. stroke signs and calling triple zero (000).
More local news
Union pushes for 4.5% annual pay increase for Echuca Regional Health workers
#LetUsSpeak: Hundreds in Campaspe seeking sexual assault counselling
Moama a step closer to new police station
18°C