Stroke Foundation

19/06/2026

Every 11 minutes, someone in Australia has a stroke.
Men are almost 1.5 times more likely to have a stroke than women, yet 2 in 5 Aussie men don't know the signs and 1 in 3 don't know to call 000 immediately.
These awareness gaps are costing men's lives.
Pleas share the common signs with a bloke you know.
Know F.A.S.T.
Face drooping
Arm weakness
Speech difficulty
Time to call 000

18/06/2026

From Nathan, "I could bench 750 pounds. I didn’t know I was heading for five strokes...

In 2016, I was at the peak of my sporting career.

I was one of the best powerlifters in Australia, competing internationally, coaching athletes and chasing records. That same year, I claimed a Commonwealth record. On the outside, I looked like the picture of strength.

What I didn’t know was that I had been living with undiagnosed heart failure and atrial fibrillation for years.

I honestly thought I was just unfit.

I was breathing heavily during training and competition, but I kept pushing through it. When you’re a 175kg powerlifter, people tend to explain symptoms away. Doctors linked things back to my size, my training load or my thyroid. Meanwhile, I competed through at least two world championships while unknowingly in heart failure.

Then one morning at 4am, everything changed.

I woke my wife up because I didn’t feel right. I tried to speak and heard myself slurring, I sounded like I’d been on a bender. I remember trying to lift both my arms, convinced I was doing it properly.

My wife looked at me and said my face was melting “like a candle.” Then she said the words that probably saved my life, “I think you’re having a stroke.”

She did the F.A.S.T. test straight away, and half my body wasn’t working properly.

The paramedics arrived within eight minutes and immediately recognised I was having a stroke.

What followed was chaos. I ended up having five strokes caused by a blood clot. The strokes were simultaneous, happening within minutes of each other.

I spent eight days in hospital.

At 39 years old, stroke wasn’t even remotely on my radar; neither was atrial fibrillation.

After I was discharged, there wasn’t much neuro follow-up, so a lot of my rehab became self-directed. In some ways, my background as an elite athlete helped. High-performance sport teaches you consistency, discipline, and how to keep showing up even when things are difficult.

But stroke recovery is different. You can’t outwork fatigue, and you can’t mentally overpower neurological symptoms.

I still deal with fatigue, insomnia and left-side neglect. Even now, there are moments where it catches me out, and the AF journey continued for years afterwards. At one point I was being defibrillated so often that I had it done on a Tuesday and then again on the Friday. Recovering from that level of electrical intervention takes a toll. It could wipe out a month of productivity and energy.

There were failed attempts to return to the workforce. Like many of us, I had to rethink what work, identity and purpose looked like.

But the strokes also unexpectedly pushed me toward something new.

Before my strokes, I already had an interest in applied neuroscience. During recovery, those two worlds collided. As part of my rehab, I enrolled in a neuroscience degree at UWA and spent the next several years studying full-time.

Learning became rehabilitation, and understanding the brain helped me better understand myself.

Over time, I made my way back into the powerlifting world, not as an athlete chasing records, but as an international referee and Australian national team coach. I also work with Paralympic athletes and continue coaching movement and strength.

At its core, my work now is about helping create spaces where people can move, train and express themselves without barriers.

I believe movement belongs to everyone.

Most of what we need for life are not elite athletic skills, they’re confidence, connection, balance, strength and the ability to adapt.

I still train myself, too. I’ve found my way back to barbells, strongman training, cardio and movement work. Barbells are an honest way to live; they don’t care about ego or appearances; they simply tell the truth about where you are that day.

One thing that continues to surprise me is how shocked people still are when they hear I had a stroke.

“You’re too young.” I hear it all the time.

But stroke doesn’t care how fit you are, how strong you are or how old you are. Kids have strokes, young adults have strokes, and athletes have strokes.

I now speak to exercise science students at Murdoch University about stroke and recovery because I want future health professionals to understand that reality.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: strength looks very different after stroke.

Sometimes strength is lifting incredible weights, and sometimes strength is simply learning how to rebuild your life when everything changes overnight."

18/06/2026

What a launch!

Strokes4Stroke officially opened in Melbourne today, and wow, what a way to kick things off.

Artist Brad Blaze - Speed Painter, Artist and Entertainer had the crowd captivated, creating three incredible paintings in around 15 minutes. The man is an absolute machine.

With more than 250 artworks available to bid on, there is something for every art lover and every bid helps make a difference.

Your winning bid could help fund the next breakthrough in stroke research, treatment or care.
It could help provide support and resources for people living with the impacts of stroke.

A special thank you to Brooke Parsons for sharing her powerful stroke story and reminding us why this event matters so much.

Browse, bid and help change lives through art.
https://www.fundraise4stroke.org.au/event/strokes4stroke/home

17/06/2026

From Hailey, "After a stroke at six, I carried a lot of questions with me into my 30s where I now find myself. Through countless OT and physio rooms, and many assessments, I’ve learned a thing or two over the years. But even so, many questions remained.

What does the future hold? What is truly possible?
Time has helped answer some of these through effort, through grit, through showing up again and again. I’ve learned this: possibility is not always where you expect it. It doesn’t follow the rules, the neat outlines, or fit neatly into boxes.

Sometimes, you need to step sideways, to reimagine, to build something new from the edges of what you thought you knew.

And now, as a new chapter begins, I can’t wait to see what excitement, personality, and perspective she will bring into our lives."

Looking for parenting after stroke information - check out Young Stroke Website.

15/06/2026

Nathan Baxter looked like the picture of strength.
A Commonwealth record holder and elite powerlifter, he was competing on the world stage while unknowingly living with undiagnosed atrial fibrillation and active heart failure.

At 39, Nathan experienced five strokes.

"I woke up and tried to talk to my wife, but my words were slurred. She asked me to lift both arms and could see weakness on one side. She said my face looked like a melted candle."

His wife recognised the signs of stroke and called an ambulance immediately.

Ten years on, Nathan wants Aussie blokes to know the signs too.

Stroke can happen to anyone. The common signs are:

Face – has their mouth drooped?
Arms – can they lift both arms?
Speech – is their speech slurred or confused?
Time – call Triple Zero (000) immediately.

Could the bloke beside you recognise the signs?

Please share, 'cause men are nearly 50% more likely to experience a stroke than women, yet 2 in 5 Aussie men don’t know any of the common F.A.S.T. signs of stroke.
https://strokefoundation.org.au/how-you-can-help/get-involved/partners-sponsors/how/events-campaigns/bloke-beside-you

12/06/2026

In this letter to his Mum, Jack opens his heart wide and generously and talks about loss, grief and missing his mum. She was taken too early by stroke, only 58. Right this minute Jack is running 58Km in memory of his mum. He's doing it to raise awareness and funds to fight stroke. He is also running for his own mental health - it's a way to help him grieve and keep going. Big hugs Jack, honestly, I am crying like a baby after watching your video.
Please support Jack here: https://www.fundraise4stroke.org.au/fundraisers/jackbuckley/jack--s-58-hours-for-you-----? I will be - and watch him progress on Instagram - Diana

10/06/2026

From ONE Rehabilitation Service, "As allied health professionals working in rehabilitation, we have the privilege of walking alongside survivors of stroke during some of the hardest and most transformative chapters of their lives.

If there is one thing this work teaches us every day, it’s that resilience does not look the way many people expect. Recovery is not neat, it is not linear, it is not a steady climb from hospital bed to “better.”

There are breakthroughs, setbacks, frustrating plateaus, moments of exhaustion, and then sometimes, the smallest win becomes the most important step forward.

The people we work with teach us that resilience is not always loud or obvious. Sometimes it looks like showing up to therapy when you’re exhausted. Sometimes it looks like trying again after a hard day. Sometimes it looks like simply getting through the day.

And importantly, resilience doesn’t sit solely with the survivor of stroke.

Every day we see the incredible role played by the people around them. Partners, parents, children, friends, support workers, and healthcare professionals all become part of that recovery story. Stroke recovery is rarely an individual effort; it is a team effort.

At ONE Rehabilitation Service, this is exactly why we care so deeply about supporting Stroke Foundation through the 131km in May and Stride4Stroke, which we have done for years.

As clinicians, we can support the clients who walk through our doors, but fundraising allows us to be part of something bigger. It helps extend support beyond our clinic walls and contributes to the life-changing work Stroke Foundation does in prevention, research, advocacy and recovery support.

Their vision of fewer strokes and better outcomes for people impacted by stroke is something we are incredibly proud to stand behind.

One thing we see firsthand is just how critical rehabilitation is after stroke.

For many people, leaving the hospital can feel overwhelming. While you are in hospital, there is structure, support, and a team around you. Then suddenly you’re home, and the question becomes: what now?

That transition can be incredibly difficult.

We firmly believe that rehabilitation is not a luxury. It is an essential part of stroke recovery.
Recovery does not stop when someone leaves hospital. Ongoing rehabilitation helps people rebuild independence, confidence, physical function, communication, cognition, and emotional wellbeing over time.

It also supports families who are often adjusting alongside their loved ones and navigating a completely new reality. One of the biggest misconceptions we hear is that recovery only happens within the first couple of years after stroke.

That simply is not true.

With the right support, opportunities and rehabilitation, recovery can continue for many years. Progress may look different over time, but it absolutely remains possible.

People often ask if there was one specific client or moment that inspired us to take part in the 131 Km campaign. The honest answer is no, it’s bigger than one moment.

It’s something we see every single day.

We see determination, we see frustration, and we see courage. We see people pushing themselves physically and emotionally to regain parts of their lives that stroke has impacted.

Taking on 131km in May (and Stride4Stroke) feels like our way of standing beside them in solidarity.

As a team, we’ve embraced the challenge together. We already hold monthly wellness mornings, so for May we swapped one out for a beach walk followed by coffee, naturally. Throughout the month, we kept each other motivated by celebrating every win, big or small, and reminding ourselves why we’re doing this.

And honestly? It’s been fun.

If we could share one message with other healthcare teams thinking about fundraising for Stroke Foundation, it would be this: do it.

Fundraising connects your day-to-day work to a bigger movement. It shows your clients and community that your commitment goes beyond the clinic walls.

And in this case, it aligns perfectly with one of the most important messages we share every day: movement matters.

Regular exercise can help reduce stroke risk, improve recovery, and support overall health.

For us, this challenge is about awareness, action, and solidarity.

But above all, it’s about the people who continue to show us what resilience really looks like.

09/06/2026

Thousands of conversations, hundreds of blood pressure checks and one important message: know your numbers...

It was fantastic to see so many people stop by our Australia's Biggest Blood Pressure Check events in Brisbane, Melbourne and Hobart. And a big thanks to Dilruk Jayasinha for joining us in Melbourne and helping raise awareness.

May may be over, but checking your blood pressure shouldn't stop there.
High blood pressure often has no symptoms, yet it can significantly increase your risk of stroke.
The only way to know if it's high is to get it checked.
Visit your GP or local pharmacy and know your numbers. It could help prevent a stroke.

ABBPC 2026 is proudly supported by:
Major Sponsors: Kieser Australia Servier and AstraZeneca and Supporting Sponsor: Pure Australia

Call now to connect with business.

09/06/2026

Mez's top tip for stroke recovery? Find your people.
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For Mez, that person was her trainer at the gym. Having someone who understood her, believed in her and supported her helped her rebuild confidence and keep moving forward.
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Recovery is bloody hard, but you don't have to do it alone.
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Looking for your crew? Call StrokeLine on 1800 787 653, connect with YoungStroke, explore EnableMe and check out IRebound.
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Find your people. It can make all the difference.
Thanks for the stitch!