Tahnee makes great strides for stroke recovery

Tahnee Haynes and her army of supporters are preparing to pound Mornington Peninsula pavements throughout the month of November.

The mother of two young boys is lucky to be alive after experiencing five ischaemic strokes and developing a rare condition called Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome (RCVS) just days after the birth of her second son.

She says she experienced the most excruciating headache she had ever felt.

“With my newborn baby in my arms, I looked at my husband and screamed for help, I honestly felt like I was going to die. Morphine didn’t even ease the pain, I was experiencing thunderclap headaches for up to six hours twice a day,” she said.

Two years on, Tahnee still lives with the impacts of her stroke. She’s now determined to raise awareness of stroke and inform others that strokes can strike anyone, at any time.

“I know how lucky I am to be here, I was told those first 14 days were critical, I guess someone was looking out for me,” Tahnee said.

Tahnee is a proud advocate for Stroke Foundation and even shared her story with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Medical Research Jaala Pulford at a roundtable on self-advocacy in the health system.

“I want everyone to know that stroke does not discriminate. Know the signs, if you feel like you are having a stroke, you probably are – so seek treatment quickly.”

Stride4Stroke participants are encouraged to set an activity goal to increase their daily ‘moving minutes’. They can choose any activity to complete within the month, from walking, running, swimming, cycling, an online exercise class or a goal in stroke rehabilitation. The options are endless.

Tahnee has challenged herself to complete 600 active minutes throughout the month. She’s well on her way to achieving her $1000 fundraising goal.

Stroke Foundation Executive Director of Marketing John De Rango congratulated Tahnee on her fundraising journey.

“We know that 80 per cent of strokes are preventable and taking steps to adopt a healthy lifestyle can reduce your risk,” Mr De Rango said.

“Stride4Stroke is a great starting point to make the changes that can reduce your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes which are all modifiable risk factors of stroke.”

As part of Stride4Stroke, Team Tahnee will be walking from the Blairgowrie shops to Rye Park on Saturday, November 12 from 10am. Visit the website to find out more.