Do not muck around with high blood pressure
October 22, 2019
Shane Elliott’s one big regret is that he did not take his blood pressure more seriously.
The 47 year old school principal and father of two has been living with high blood pressure since his early twenties and had a family history of the condition.
Shane admitted he thought he was invincible. Shane was slack with his medication and was even warned by doctors he would be putting himself at risk of a stroke by not taking it.
Then one day in 2014, Shane collapsed at work.
Shane’s colleagues attempted to call ambulance for him, but he insisted he would be okay and drove himself home with a splitting headache.
The headache did not go away and in the coming days Shane’s condition continued to deteriorate. He was showing the F.A.S.T. (Face, Arms, Speech and Time) signs of stroke and returned to hospital. Shane’s stroke was diagnosed three days after its onset.
Shane spent the next eight weeks in hospital and had to learn how to walk again, open a bottle and tie shoe laces among other things. But the most challenging impact of stroke was yet to come. Once home, Shane felt useless and lonely. Shane was worried he was a burden on his wife and two teenage daughters and he felt guilty.
“I really hit rock bottom,” Shane said.
“I cried constantly, I had no control of my emotions or thoughts. I was depressed.”
Shane wanted to get out of the house and be able to contribute to his family and the community again. He began his gradual return to work eight months after his stroke with a new appreciation for life.
Today, Shane said he always takes his medication.
“Before my stroke, I just didn’t comprehend how important it was to keep my blood pressure under control. I was slack and I am not proud of that,” Shane said.
“The reality is, I probably could have prevented my stroke.
“If you are prescribed medication, don’t muck around, take it. And make sure you eat healthily and exercise too. It could save your life.”
The 47 year old school principal and father of two has been living with high blood pressure since his early twenties and had a family history of the condition.
Shane admitted he thought he was invincible. Shane was slack with his medication and was even warned by doctors he would be putting himself at risk of a stroke by not taking it.
Then one day in 2014, Shane collapsed at work.
Shane’s colleagues attempted to call ambulance for him, but he insisted he would be okay and drove himself home with a splitting headache.
The headache did not go away and in the coming days Shane’s condition continued to deteriorate. He was showing the F.A.S.T. (Face, Arms, Speech and Time) signs of stroke and returned to hospital. Shane’s stroke was diagnosed three days after its onset.
Shane spent the next eight weeks in hospital and had to learn how to walk again, open a bottle and tie shoe laces among other things. But the most challenging impact of stroke was yet to come. Once home, Shane felt useless and lonely. Shane was worried he was a burden on his wife and two teenage daughters and he felt guilty.
“I really hit rock bottom,” Shane said.
“I cried constantly, I had no control of my emotions or thoughts. I was depressed.”
Shane wanted to get out of the house and be able to contribute to his family and the community again. He began his gradual return to work eight months after his stroke with a new appreciation for life.
Today, Shane said he always takes his medication.
“Before my stroke, I just didn’t comprehend how important it was to keep my blood pressure under control. I was slack and I am not proud of that,” Shane said.
“The reality is, I probably could have prevented my stroke.
“If you are prescribed medication, don’t muck around, take it. And make sure you eat healthily and exercise too. It could save your life.”