Being a Wildlife Warrior is the heart and strength behind my recovery

By Cathy

Three years ago, I had a stroke. I didn’t even realise was having one at first. It took a few days before it occurred to me what was happening, as the symptoms got more and more obvious, I could no longer ignore the signs.

I was on heart medication but as life got busy, I didn’t take it as prescribed, and pow – that’s what caused the stroke. It was something that my doctor told me could happen, but you never think that it will.

It was a Saturday morning, and I had planned a training day with my volunteer wildlife rescuers. It was raining, so I sent out a message canceling the session and decided to go back to sleep. When I woke up at 12:30 pm, which is much later than normal - I was shocked. I apologised to my friend Erin, who had traveled from Sydney, and to my grandson Cooper, who was staying with me.

I decided to run to the bakery, but something felt off. My left arm wasn’t cooperating, and I kept dropping the bags. Still, I didn’t think anything of it. I went home, put on Christmas movies (I love Christmas, haha), and carried on with my weekend. The next day, I even rescued a pelican that had a hook in its mouth. Life seemed normal, until Tuesday.

When I logged into work on Tuesday afternoon, something was wrong. I couldn’t type properly. I was a fast typist, but suddenly, my hands weren’t working like they should. Then it clicked - my left arm, my hand, the dropping things, the struggle to type, I knew those were the signs of a stroke. My doctor had warned me that my heart’s arrhythmia could lead to one if I didn’t take my medication properly, and I had been forgetting to take my aspirin.

I went to my son and asked him to take me to the hospital. A quick scan confirmed it, I had suffered a stroke. I spent four days in the stroke ward, going through MRIs and getting put on new medications to help regulate my heart, thyroid, and blood pressure. They also gave me exercises to regain function in my left arm and hand, and thankfully, they worked!

At first, I thought my stroke hadn’t really affected me. But I started to notice little things; my balance was off, my eyesight wasn’t the same, and worst of all, the ocean, my favorite place, suddenly scared the hell out of me. I used to run into the waves without thinking. Now, I hesitate, afraid I’ll fall. I used to dive after pelicans in distress, but now I am scared that I won’t know which way is up if I go underwater.

The dizziness also made it hard to walk, and I started gaining weight. Simple things like showering became stressful. I have to keep a hand on the wall so I don’t fall, and mentally it’s been tough.

I sometimes find myself retreating into my home, not wanting to go out, pulling out of plans last minute because I need to mentally prepare myself to enjoy them. And even at work, where I’m lucky to have an amazing boss, I find myself calling in sick if I get a headache.

Honestly, if I didn’t have wildlife rescue, I truly don’t know where I’d be. It gives me purpose, structure, and the motivation to keep moving forward. The Marine Wildlife Rescue Central Coast group that I founded keeps me connected to the world. Training new rescuers, saving marine animals, and being part of a community that cares - it keeps me upright, quite literally.

Since my stroke, I’ve been on two TV shows—Better Homes and Gardens with Dr. Harry and The Living Room with Dr. Chris Brown. I even performed a rescue with Dr. Chris and assisted another with Dr. Harry! And every weekend, and every day during school holidays, my team runs Pelican Time at The Entrance on the NSW Central Coast. This work, this passion, keeps me going.

Now, my main goal in my recovery is to be able to conquer my fear of diving in the sea again. I miss having this freedom and confidence in my abilities – I need this back, to regain that feeling of being hugged by the sea. That may be weird to some people, but if you are a water baby like I am – you’ll get it.

The stroke took a lot from me, but it didn’t take everything. I still have my passion, my purpose, and my fight. And as long as there are marine animals in need, I’ll be out there, doing what I love.

To anyone going through this - find your passion, hold onto it, and let it carry you through.

P.S. We all experience stroke differently, and we need to be kind to ourselves. Reach out for help when you need it, because as much as we want to believe our lives haven’t changed, they have. For those of us with invisible effects, we need to be honest with our loved ones about how we’re feeling and what we’re capable of.