A Surrey Downs mother of two is urging South Australians to learn the F.A.S.T. signs after a devastating stroke at 47 left her having to relearn how to read, write and walk.
Barbara Dybala had just finished work in October 2022 when she began feeling symptoms of what she thought was a migraine coming on.
“The pain was building, and I assumed it was a migraine, so I went to the chemist to get medication, but it didn’t help,” Barbara said.
“My condition was not improving, so I called my dad who took me to hospital. They gave me more medication, treated it as a migraine and sent me home to rest.”
However, Barbara’s symptoms continued to worsen.
“I called Dad again and told him I felt terrible. I could hardly walk to the car, I couldn’t speak properly and my vision was gone.”
“As we pulled into the emergency department for the second time, I collapsed out of the car.”
Brain scans confirmed Barbara had experienced a stroke. She spent three nights in intensive care before beginning a long and challenging recovery journey.
The stroke left Barbara with significant vision loss, left-sided neglect, and difficulties with reading, writing and everyday tasks.
“During my time in hospital I also had Guillain-Barré syndrome which made the recovery process even harder. I knew what people were saying, but I couldn’t process things the way I used to. It was frightening, not just for me but for my family,” Barabara said.
“As a mum, you always want to be the one looking after your children. The last thing you want is to feel like a burden to your kids or your parents.”
“My whole family were my heroes through my recovery. My mum, dad and my two children helped me through the darkest times.”
Nearly four years after her life-changing stroke, Barbara is among the 34,000 survivors of stroke of all ages living in South Australia. She is sharing her story during National Stroke Week which runs from 3 to 9 August. This year’s theme is ’F.A.S.T. heroes’ and recognises the everyday champions who knew how to recognise the signs of a stroke, acted quickly and helped save lives.
Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Dr Lisa Murphy, says everyone can be a hero by learning and sharing the F.A.S.T. stroke message.
“You don’t need a cape to be a hero, you just need to know the signs of stroke by learning the F.A.S.T. acronym and calling triple zero (000) when stroke strikes. It can save a life.”
“F is for face - is their face drooping? A is for arms - can they lift both arms? S is for speech - is their speech slurred? And T is for time - time is critical. Call 000 immediately,” Dr Murphy said.
“When a stroke strikes, it attacks up to 1.9 million brain cells per minute so there’s absolutely no time to waste. You must act fast and call triple zero (000) for ambulance to help.”
National Stroke Week is Stroke Foundation’s annual awareness campaign. You can support the campaign by sharing or creating your own social media post on any platform. Learn and share the F.A.S.T. signs of stroke and call triple zero (000) straight away if you suspect a stroke.
National Stroke Week is proudly supported by Major Sponsors: EMVision, Wellumio, and Supporting Sponsors: AbbVie and Pure Australia.
