Troy Browns sacrifice for stroke
October 21, 2015
Like too many Australians, National Stroke Foundation supporter Troy Brown has seen first-hand the terrible impact of stroke. Around one year ago his father Gordon suffered a massive stroke.
“The 19th of October 2014 started out as a great day for Dad. He’d been to the Lancefield show and bought some chooks at a sale with Mum. He was sitting at home in the lounge room, just about to have a cup of tea, when he called out he thought he just had a stroke,” Troy explained.
The family called the ambulance and Gordon was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. That night the family were faced with a confronting decision – allow Gordon to undergo a life-threatening operation to relieve the pressure on his brain or watch him pass away.
“How could we not give him a chance to live? After the operation Dad showed signs of improvement – you could see he was fighting hard to survive,” Troy said.
Despite everyone’s best efforts Gordon sadly lost the fight 11 days later. Troy has decided to honour the anniversary of Gordon’s passing by taking on a 12 hour run on the 30th of October to raise vital funds and awareness for the National Stroke Foundation.
Troy will start running from the Royal Melbourne Hospital at 2am – the exact time of his father’s death and ending at Box Hill North Primary School.
“The run is called sacrifice for stroke as it’s about me sacrificing something small to pay tribute to the sacrifices my dad made for me all his life,” Troy said.
“The run will be tough no doubt – both physically and emotionally. I’m starting from the Royal Melbourne where Dad spent his last days and ending at the Primary school where I teach in Box Hill North.
“All up it could be up to 100 kilometres and if it’s a hot day that will make it harder. The training is going well but the furthest I’ve run so far is 68 kilometres so it’s unknown territory from here!”
Troy said the tough run will be worth it to make a difference for stroke patients and their families.
“There needs to be more research on how we can prevent, treat and survive stroke. Money needs to go into research to make a difference so other families don’t have to go through what we did,” Troy said.
“There was so much more I wanted to share with Dad. I was about to be married and just two months later, at my wedding, knowing he would not be there to see me with my own family was incredibly painful.
“I hope people donate as much as they can to The National Stroke Foundation so that in the future, the outcome of stories like my dad’s and my family’s will have a very different ending.”
Find our more and donate to Sacrifice for Stroke at: https://doit4stroke.everydayhero.com/au/S4S or call the National Stroke Foundation fundraising team on 1300 194 196.
“The 19th of October 2014 started out as a great day for Dad. He’d been to the Lancefield show and bought some chooks at a sale with Mum. He was sitting at home in the lounge room, just about to have a cup of tea, when he called out he thought he just had a stroke,” Troy explained.
The family called the ambulance and Gordon was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital. That night the family were faced with a confronting decision – allow Gordon to undergo a life-threatening operation to relieve the pressure on his brain or watch him pass away.
“How could we not give him a chance to live? After the operation Dad showed signs of improvement – you could see he was fighting hard to survive,” Troy said.
Despite everyone’s best efforts Gordon sadly lost the fight 11 days later. Troy has decided to honour the anniversary of Gordon’s passing by taking on a 12 hour run on the 30th of October to raise vital funds and awareness for the National Stroke Foundation.
Troy will start running from the Royal Melbourne Hospital at 2am – the exact time of his father’s death and ending at Box Hill North Primary School.
“The run is called sacrifice for stroke as it’s about me sacrificing something small to pay tribute to the sacrifices my dad made for me all his life,” Troy said.
“The run will be tough no doubt – both physically and emotionally. I’m starting from the Royal Melbourne where Dad spent his last days and ending at the Primary school where I teach in Box Hill North.
“All up it could be up to 100 kilometres and if it’s a hot day that will make it harder. The training is going well but the furthest I’ve run so far is 68 kilometres so it’s unknown territory from here!”
Troy said the tough run will be worth it to make a difference for stroke patients and their families.
“There needs to be more research on how we can prevent, treat and survive stroke. Money needs to go into research to make a difference so other families don’t have to go through what we did,” Troy said.
“There was so much more I wanted to share with Dad. I was about to be married and just two months later, at my wedding, knowing he would not be there to see me with my own family was incredibly painful.
“I hope people donate as much as they can to The National Stroke Foundation so that in the future, the outcome of stories like my dad’s and my family’s will have a very different ending.”
Find our more and donate to Sacrifice for Stroke at: https://doit4stroke.everydayhero.com/au/S4S or call the National Stroke Foundation fundraising team on 1300 194 196.
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