Joy was doing a load of washing before going shopping with her sister in Northern NSW when she suddenly fell to the floor. Joy felt disorientated, paralysed down one side of her body, and had slurred speech.
Thankfully, Joy’s sister found her and immediately called an ambulance.
Joy was assessed, stabilised, and taken to the Lismore Base Hospital. The ambulance crew and hospital staff believed Joy had suffered a stroke.
NSW Telestroke Service neurologist Dr. Tim Ang, located at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, worked with local clinicians to assess Joy and confirm the stroke. Joy received clot-busting medicine at Lismore Base Hospital before being transferred to Gold Coast University Hospital for a clot removal procedure.
By the next morning, Joy’s condition had returned to normal, and she was kept in hospital for observation.
"I cannot tell you how grateful I am to be alive," says Joy.
"I think Telestroke is absolutely brilliant and I will be telling a lot of people about it," Joy added.
Joy is back to walking her dog and doing almost everything she did before the stroke. “Without Telestroke I could potentially have permanent damage or even be dead,” she said.
Stroke is a time-critical medical emergency. A stroke kills up to 1.9 million brain cells per minute, and time saved in accessing stroke treatment results in brain power saved.
“Telestroke is amazing, especially for regional and remote communities,” says Joy.
More information
If you are a clinician and want to find out more about the NSW Telestroke Service, visit the Agency for Clinical Innovation.