A Paddington mother who had a stroke ten days after giving birth is sharing her story to educate others and inspire Aussies to get active.
In June 2019, Annabel Boyers was basking in the joy of just having given birth to her second child, Bonnie, when she had double vision and a headache, prompting her to go to hospital.
“I knew my high blood pressure was playing up so I went to hospital. I also had a sore neck which I was told was likely due to breastfeeding, so I was discharged.”
Three days later the then-32-year-old woke up unable to talk properly and was walking into walls. She went to hospital again where she was told she’d had two strokes overnight. While in hospital, another round of strokes struck.
“I just burst into tears because at that point it dawned on me what had happened.”
Annabel spent weeks in hospital undergoing rehabilitation and couldn’t be alone with her newborn girl.
“I was told there was a risk I would drop her. It was hard because not many mums with newborn babies have strokes so it was difficult not to be able to sit alone with my baby or wash her.”
The mother of two has now recovered and is sharing her story to educate others on stroke. She’s taking part in Stroke Foundation’s annual fundraiser and health campaign, Stride4Stroke, exercising every day to raise funds and educate others on the importance of stroke awareness.
“I want people to know that even young people can have strokes and if I can avoid what happened to me happening to another person, by sharing my story, then I feel like I have achieved something.”
Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer Dr Lisa Murphy said an Australian has a stroke every 19 minutes.
“Stroke does not discriminate. It can happen to anyone, at any time. In fact, 24 per cent of strokes are experienced by working aged Australians, just like Annabel,” Dr Murphy said.
“One million strokes a year globally are linked to physical inactivity. This means too many lives are being impacted by stroke unnecessarily, and research tells us just 30 minutes of exercise five times a week can reduce your stroke risk by 25 per cent.”
