Shannon Nelson was leading a normal life as a wife, mother, daughter and sister and working full time in a nursing administration role when her life changed forever at the age of 45.
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Her husband Stewart woke about 5.30am one Sunday morning to see his wife thrashing around in bed, and then fall on the floor.
Less than three hours earlier he remembered her getting out of bed to use the bathroom, not that Shannon remembers that part either.
Shannon was paralysed down her right side, could not speak and had a facial droop.
Stewart immediately recognised the signs of stroke - thanks to the promotion of the FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) checklist - and immediately called 000.
It is credited with saving Shannon’s life.
Now, a few years later and despite still suffering some of the impacts of that stroke, Shannon is sharing her story far and wide to raise awareness of the condition - and how it does not have to rule your life.
And she felt it was time to share it with her former home town.
Shannon’s strong message today is, “There is life after a stroke, never give up and most importantly know the FAST signs of a stroke”.
Stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers and a leading cause of disability.
It kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer.
Stroke can happen to anyone, at any age, anywhere and about 25 per cent of stroke survivors are of working age.
More than 600 infant and childhood strokes occur each year - every stroke is different.
“I don’t know whether I could have got through the past three years without the love and support of my family - husband Stewart and children Sean and Gemma - and friends,” Shannon said.
“Stoke affects the whole family, not just the individual,” she said.
Shannon now works full time in an admin role at an occupational therapy clinic, and does one nursing shift a month as an EN.
In 2019 she became a Stroke Safe Ambassador for the Stroke Foundation.
In 2020 she was nominated and a finalist in the stroke awards and was the face of the Stroke Foundation’s campaign, which includes conducting talks to communities or workplace groups.
Shannon believes one of the main reasons she is still here today is because her husband knew the FAST acronym.
“Stewart is my FAST hero,” she said lovingly.
“When dawned on me I was having a stroke, I was so scared.
“I remember the ambulance officers arriving.
“They couldn’t get me out as I was lodged between the bed and the window.”
The ambulance arrived about 10 minutes after the 000 call.
They strapped Shannon to a hover mat and dragged her down the hallway of the house.
“I remember seeing Gemma (our daughter) holding our dog as I was being dragged out. I began to cry; I thought to myself that I might not get through this.
“Our then 17 year-old son Sean slept through the whole ordeal.”
By 6am that Sunday Shannon had been admitted to Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne.
The stroke team diagnosed her with a Left Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) stroke, caused by a clot.
Four out of five strokes are caused by a clot, with the other 20 per cent the result of a bleed.
Clot dissolving medication was administered at 6.20am.
“I am lucky Stewart heard me get up to the toilet. Most stroke treatments are time sensitive and need to be given within 4.5 hours.
“My stroke could therefore be timed from 3am.”
Shannon was then transferred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for clot retrieval, which took place a little over an hour later.
“That was my father’s 70th birthday, thankfully we celebrated the Sunday before”, she said.
“When Stewart called they expected he was ringing to wish Dad a happy birthday - instead it was the devastating news their only daughter has suffered a stroke.”
Shannon’s parents Ian ‘Dutchy’ and Denise Hunter immediately drove to the Royal Melbourne Hospital to be by her side.
They stayed with her through the initial stages of recovery.
“They gave up their world for me for three months so they could look after me while Stewart returned to work, as we had a mortgage to pay.
“We had lots of tears.
“At first I couldn’t speak for a week, I couldn’t walk and I was still paralysed down my right side.”
Shannon was later transferred back to Box Hill Hospital where they found a hole between her left and right atria, was the cause of her stroke.
“My first word after a week was ‘one’, I repeated the word that the speech therapist said to me”, she said.
Shannon was later diagnosed with apraxia as a result of the stroke, which is defined as having difficulty planning and coordinating the movement of muscles used during speech.
“I knew what I wanted to say, I just couldn’t get the words out.”
Box Hill Hospital was Shannon’s home for eight days and then she was transferred to the Peter James Centre (PJC) for rehab.
Her rehab consisted of speech therapy, occupational therapy and constant exercises.
“I was right handed so I had to learn to write with my left hand and I was constantly repeating words,” she said.
“My favourite was ‘put your crap away’ and I did functional phrases like ‘good morning’ and ‘how are you’.”
Shannon has also since been diagnosed with aphasia.
It is a language disorder caused by damage in areas of the brain that control language, expression and comprehension. It does not indicate a loss of intelligence.
“I am a nurse and I thought aphasia was absence of speech,” she said surprised.
“I had difficulty with word finding and spelling, which are still issues today.
“My son often reminds me that he doesn’t speak stroke,” she said with a giggle.
Shannon was in hospital for a total of three weeks and five days, and then did a four week intensive program for stroke patients.
She continues speech therapy, occupational therapy (including robotic hand therapy) and gait therapy on a regular basis.
On a recent check up at the Box Hill Stroke Clinic, the doctor was surprised at how well she was talking and described her stroke as “massive”.
“I viewed the scans and my left brain had been completely cut from oxygen; it (that side of the brain) was dying,” she said.
“The doctor said I was a poster girl for when things work out right.
“The ‘FAST’ acronym definitely worked for me.”
To learn more about stroke, the signs to watch for and how you can support stroke research and support programs, go to strokefoundation.org.au.