Stroke Survivor Helping Other Survivors And Raising Awareness For Stroke Awareness Week

Hullabaloo PR

It’s not something we ever imagine happening at such a young age, however at only seventeen, Julian Reddish had what doctors diagnosed as a stroke, as the cause of crashing his car into an oncoming vehicle at high speed in 2006.

This was a devasting blow for Julian, with his plans to start a carpentry apprenticeship now dashed and his life, forever changed. What began, was a very long journey of recovery, albeit recovery did not bring about the life he had been building, as the accident and stroke left Julian with only partial use of one hand, lingering fatigue and slower walking and communication. However, not one to accept that he couldn’t go on to lead a fulfilling life, Julian set about seeking opportunities to not only help his own healing and recovery but has now embarked on mission to raise awareness of stroke recovery and share his experience and to support other stroke sufferers by training as a counsellor with a particular emphasis on stroke survivors and their families.

A stroke is described as such when a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain either suddenly becomes blocked (ischaemic stroke) or ruptures and begins to bleed (haemorrhagic stroke). Either may result in part of the brain dying, leading to sudden impairment that can affect a number of functions. Stroke often causes paralysis of parts of the body normally controlled by the area of the brain affected by the stroke, or speech problems and other symptoms, such as difficulties with swallowing, vision and thinking.

And there are some pretty alarming statistics provided by Stroke Foundation Australia;

  • 27,428 Australians experienced stroke for the first time in their lives in 2020, which equates to one stroke every 19 minutes
  • More than 445,087 Australians are living with the effects of stroke.
  • Stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers. It kills more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer.
  • In 2020, the estimated cost of stroke in Australia was $6.2 billion in direct financial impact, and a further $26.0 billion in mortality and lost wellbeing.
  • In 2020, 6,535 (24 percent of total) first-ever strokes occurred in people aged 54 years and under.
  • Without action by 2050 it is predicted there will be a stroke every 10 minutes, and there will be 819,900 survivors of stroke living in the community.

“The stroke changed everything imaginable about my life. It was as if I was reborn. I had to learn to eat, breath, talk, walk, socialise again as if for the first time. Now, sixteen years later I still am affected from time to time with memory loss and low energy but improving as every year goes by. However, I know from my own experience that counselling and seeking support was crucial to my recovery and ability to cope with this huge life change and so I am keen to help others so that they don’t lose hope and find ways to live with their disability,” says Julian.

Julian is passionate about letting other stroke victims know that all is not lost and shares his messages of hope through his social media channels and his book, ‘Stroke Recovery’. His message is simple; although every stroke survivor is different, overall, it is possible to recover, and it is possible to enjoy life again even if you don’t think it is. There is light at the end of the “dark stroke recovery tunnel” and you can achieve a brighter and more enjoyable life.

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/Public Release.