By Jessica Micallef
Maree Scale knows firsthand the importance of understanding the first signs of a stroke.
The Riddells Creek resident has been recognised as a FAST Hero as part of the Stroke Foundation’s National Stroke Week.
She has dedicated her time to educating others on the FAST signs of a stroke after her son Jesse suffered from a stroke in 2016 when he was 33-years-old.
“He was working for The Age has a sports journalist … when he had his stroke,“ Ms Scale said.
“He rang his housemate and he recognised that Jesse wasn’t making sense over the phone so he rang triple zero.“
Jesse was taken into hospital and was told he had suffered from a transient ischaemic attack, known as a “short episode“ of a stroke attack.
Doctors provided Jesse with blood clotting aspirin and was given the all clear to go home the next morning.
However, this was not the case.
“During the night in hospital, he had a massive stoke,“ Ms Scale said.
“He had five days in intensive care and five weeks in the Royal Melbourne Hospital stroke ward and another five months in rehab.
“Then he came home to live with us for two years so we could help with his recovery.“
With the support from his family and friends, Jesse has been living by himself for about two years.
Ms Scale said her son’s strong determination has got him to where he was today.
“He has … quite a lot of independence,“ she said.
“He is still doing therapy and that will continue for a long time.
“Journalism was a passion of his but he is really quite passionate about his therapies and he still has a fantastic positive attitude about putting in 100 per cent. His determination is quite incredible.“
Ms Scale said knowing the FAST signs of a stroke and was the difference between life and death.
“Time is critical because every minute, millions of brain cells dies,“ she said.
“It is so important to know what is happening and what are the signs and how critical it is to get onto triple zero. Even mentioning that you think it is a stroke is an important message.
“I am no hero. I am just doing it … to spread the message.“
The Stroke Foundation’s National Stroke Week is between August 31 – September 6.
Details: strokefoundation.org.au/
