My son saved my life

By Jillian

It was the day of my son’s 25th birthday and two weeks before my 63rd when I suffered a stroke.

I was putting the finishing touches on my son Daniel’s birthday cake when he walked through the door. Immediately he knew something was wrong as I was dazed and kept dropping the chocolate letters for his cake.

Daniel knew the signs of stroke and guessed that may be happening to me, but he wasn’t sure, so he called a neighbour that had experienced stroke before. She knew immediately that I was suffering a stroke and asked Daniel to call 000 immediately.

When the paramedics arrived, they could see the signs of stroke and in half an hour I was at hospital having a brain scan. It turns out I also had heart problems and diabetes – I got the triple whammy diagnosis. 

I now take medication for three different chronic illnesses which means 196 pills a fortnight. I also had a team of allied health professionals treating me; speech pathologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, neuro-psychologist, ophthalmologist and a cardiologist. It was good to get the help that I needed.

But since my stroke life has been very different. I am lonely because I have found that friendships have drifted apart, and I miss my volunteer work. I worry all the time that I will have another stroke and I won’t be here for my boy. I worry about my recovery and about little and big things. I find the worry a huge burden, so I am seeing a psychologist for help.

I am grateful that I wake up every day, I look the same, better actually, but I am profoundly different, and I don’t know how to explain this to people.

I want to use this blog to thank my son Daniel. From the bottom of my heart thank you for your quick thinking, thank you for getting help, calling the ambulance and for looking after me.

Thank you for taking time off work, being my carer, getting my medication, doing my house work, reading to me and helping me to do the shopping and cooking.

Thank you for knowing how important it was to see my dog, Matilda, before she died. You kept her alive long enough for me to say goodbye. 

Thank you for not talking over me when I forget my words, for being my partner in crime, for being the best son a mother could hope for. You are my hero, and there are no words that I can utter that will ever explain the boundless love that I have for you.

Your birthday will now always be the day that you saved my life. We’ll continue to share this day, and I will continue to try and get those damn chocolate letters on your cake.

My recovery and rehabilitation have been hard work, a roller coaster of a ride with some days where I am on top of the world, and others where the bottom drops out of it. I laugh, I cry, I scream with frustration and I put one damn foot in front of the other. My life is a slog, but it’s still mine.

I have lost 40 kilograms in 11 months, I now enjoy shopping for clothes, and with the help of my psychologist I am focused on returning to work. It is good to have goals. 

To everyone reading this blog, I am grateful. I want people to know that every stroke is different, and the struggle is real even when you can’t see it – especially when you can’t see it. I urge everyone to know the signs of a stroke but understand they can be subtle and there are others too. 

If you have even the slightest inkling that someone is having a stroke call 000 immediately, it is always a medical emergency. 

Thank you.