Hi I am Alex and this is my story

On Good Friday 2016 I was out running my dogs in the morning, and later I was going to meet up with my wife and three and a half month old son for the Easter weekend. This was a normal thing for me to be doing, as I was returning to running after the birth of my son, with the hopes to one day participate in a marathon.

Whilst I was running I began to feel weak and was unable to keep hold of one of my dog’s leads. At the time I did not know anything about stroke and therefore this did not even cross my mind. I began to run home as I was feeling off but I started to feel worse, to the point where I felt like I was going to die. I saw a lady in the neighborhood and ran to her and then collapsed. The first witnesses to see me thought I was just drunk as the symptoms can be similar, but luckily they called an ambulance anyway. 

I was rushed to Box Hill hospital and whilst I was in the CT machine I became very agitated and was intubated and placed in an induced coma. From here I was transferred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital ICU where I was kept in an induced coma for three days. It is here that my family learnt of the devastating news that I had suffered from a severe right sided hemisphere stroke, due to a dissection of my right carotid artery. The exact cause is still unknown; with some theories in the mix mostly I have been told that it just came down to sheer bad luck. 

When I was woken from the coma and I had lost complete use of the left side of my body. Once I was medically cleared I was then transferred to the Peter James Centre where my rehabilitation began. I made huge physical improvements at a rate that surprised all of the medical team. I was very determined to get my life back to normal so I spent hours in my hospital room between sessions doing relentless exercises. I was discharged form PJC after 6 weeks even though I was initially told I was going to need to be there for at least three months. I then continued my rehabilitation as an outpatient. 

On the 25th of this month marks six months since my stroke and I have just returned to driving, and am in the process of organizing an integrated return to work. I still have some weakness on the left side of my body but I am out running again and still hope to run a marathon one day. I put my ongoing recovery down to sheer determination and the support of a loving family. Every day I still am faced with challenges that are a consequence of my stroke, however I am determined to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can for my son who is now 9 and half months old.