My Story - Kevin Cleveland aged 57

August 2003

My name is Kevin Cleveland and I was 57 when I had a brain attack (stroke) on the 9th day of May 2001 (like a 100 other people in Australia that day) however I was not in Australia but was 2 weeks into a 4 week holiday starting in Kathmandu, Nepal and going overland to Lhasa in Tibet and then flying onto Beijing, China.

I, like most other people did not know much about stroke they always happened to other people, little did I realize how much my life was going to change!

I was working as a Trade Centre Manager for Taubmans Paint, was fairly fit, a non-smoker, social drinker, not overweight, but did have mild hypertension which had been under control with medication for 8 months.

I woke up in the morning after visiting Mt. Everest Base Camp the previous day, got out of bed and collapsed with a stroke down my right side. There was no warning at all – I had had a mild headache the night before, I was conscious but my speech was garbled. When my friend Craig found me he realized I’d had a stroke, and then began the 5 hour journey to get to the nearest hospital where I was given a drip and oxygen, stayed overnight and then underwent a 16 hour trip on a non-existent road to Lhasa where I stayed for 2 days before being evacuated by air ambulance to Hong Kong where I stayed for 2 weeks before returning to Australia on a stretcher accompanied by a Dr. and nurse. Thank goodness for travel insurance!

I was very fortunate that my wife Terri was flown to Hong Kong along with her sister to start the rehabilitation process, which was continued for 2 months at St.Vincents at Robina. My daughter and her family also came from Malaysia to support my wife and without them, and support from friends it would have been a bigger uphill struggle on the road to recovery.

The rehabilitation at the Hospital was fantastic, a really friendly and happy bunch of people, so when I left I had limited mobility in my right leg using a stick but my arm and hand had no movement in them and this has been a hard thing to come to terms with. The physio I’ve had has to be an ongoing thing and is done daily with the help of my wife. I also go to a gym 3 days a week to strengthen the rest of my body that is still working and also have hydrotherapy once a week.

A lot has happened in the last 2 years as I had to cease employment due to my disability, and we have moved to a home that has a smaller yard so that we (mainly my wife!) can handle the maintenance. I have joined the Gold Coast Support Group and enjoy the meetings as it is important to meet with fellow stroke survivors and be seen out and about. Colin Oxenford, the Chairman works tirelessly for our group.

I have learnt to drive our modified car to gain a bit of independence and also go out with Sailability Gold Coast and have had tremendous fun sailing their two man dinghies.

Last year I went to N.Z. to see my Mother and found the travel easy to do if you request a wheelchair from the airline staff who couldn’t be more helpful. I get quite frustrated at not being able to do things around the house that I used to enjoy. I should say here that it is the lot of the carer that really changes when someone has a stroke as they then have a lot on their plate. As well as my life being upside down, the life of my wife Terri has changed although between the two of us we can sort most things out, I consider myself very lucky!!

Is there any hope for the future? Well the undeniable fact is that I have had a stroke and have lost the use of my right arm and hand, and it has also affected many other areas of my body and day-to-day living. Never mind, I am determined to get on with life and make the best of what I’ve got left. Daily exercise and physio is an important part of that.

We are still on the road of life, just going in a slightly different direction!

May 2007

Well, it is now 6 years since I survived my stroke and as I say (I do trot out a lot of clichés) “I am still breathing” so it can’t be all that bad!

Had a bit of a scare thinking I was having another stroke in December 2005 with vertigo and nausea (I have had Tinnitus and deafness in my left ear for years), and after a week’s hospitalization and a myriad tests, MRI etc the consensus was Menieres Syndrome. So started on Stemzine and then Serc but felt in the end it was making me dizzy so tapered it off and haven’t had a relapse so now the only medication I take is Lisinopril for my hypertension.

Still get annoyed with the paralysis in my right arm and hand and limited mobility with my right leg and foot but persist in starting the day with 15min bed exercise and stretches and then to the gym and pool every 2nd day for a couple of hours or a 45min walk around the block on the other, it is not easy but living on the Gold Coast makes it ‘beautiful one day, perfect the next’.

Have now gone in the Noosa Half Marathon 5km walk for the last 3 years with friends in the “Go Kevie” team. I feel doing these types of things gives one a reason to get out of bed in morning. Also socializing with other Stroke Survivors is very important and also good for a laugh!

I also get out from the library books from Stroke Survivors, as they are very inspirational and thought provoking.

Kirk Douglas “My Stroke of Luck” 2002

“There must be thousands of stroke victims right now who have given up. They don’t go out of the house. They don’t try to communicate. They have forgotten how to laugh. They just do nothing and wait ……. for what? “

I go to see my sister in N.Z. every year for a few weeks to give respite for Terri as I know I am not easy to live with. Managed one time there going to Mt. Cook and after a long walk and small boat trip went to the foot of the Tasman Glacier, awesome!

I also go out and about with St. Lukes once a week with a Men’s respite group who have chronic conditions, and we all have a lot of fun. Keeping on laughing is most important.

Of course I wouldn’t have gotten this far without the love and support of Terri, my wife, family and friends.

Thanks to Kevin for sending in his profile. Anyone else who would like to share their story can send it along with a photograph (if you're not shy!)

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