Joanne Zahorodnyj

Back in July 2025 we had a wonderful family holiday on the South coast of NSW visiting Mum and her brother (our Uncle). We went on beach walks and built sandcastles and enjoyed brunches at the local cafe. We didn’t know at the time, that it would be the last time we would spend with Mum sharing her stories, showing us photos of her adventures and counting on her incredible memory to fill in details of any part of our lives we wished to reminisce about. Throughout the following week as we talked on the phone with Mum there were early warning signs which we didn’t recognise at the time. We now know that her distress about leaving the key in the car ignition and her word finding difficulties trying to recall the word “key” were signs of stroke. We had our concerns that something wasn’t right and encouraged Mum from 300kms away that she might want to visit her GP and reconsider driving to Sydney the following week. It wasn’t until a few days later when talking with a friend about our concerns that our friend “Kitty” (alias) asked “do think that your Mum might have had a stroke?” That evening when talking on the phone with mum, she had forgotten how to answer the phone and needed assistance from her brother. I followed the HealthDirect symptom checker whilst talking with her and realised that I needed to call an ambulance immediately. By this stage it was Saturday night and no scans were available to be done until the following Monday. The initial treatment was for delirium which can be caused by a multitude of things, the main one for the age bracket being UTI. However once the scan was done it was confirmed that Mum had suffered a massive stroke to her hippocampus - this affected her word recall, her short term memory, and also her vision had been impaired due to the impact of the stroke on her occipital lobe. No facial drooping, no limp limbs - we just didn’t know what the other signs were at the time. Over the next 8 months Mum went into rehab and eventually residential aged care and in March she went to heaven for Eternal rest.

So this is our “why” - In honour of the joy which Mum brought to everyone who knew her, we want to turn our loss into something positive, it’s what she would have done. We hope that by raising awareness of stroke and the need to seek medical attention immediately that fewer lives are lost and that those who do suffer have better recovery. Thank you all for your support. 

So, it’s important to be aware of what the signs might be and what to do next. There is loads of information on the Stroke Foundation page so please have a read and if in doubt, call an ambulance. You could save someone’s life or improve their chance of recovery if you act F.A.S.T.  Thanks so much to everyone who has shared the fundraising page, made a donation, offered some encouragement and special thanks to those who have joined the “Pelicans” team!