00:01After a life-changing incident four years ago, Darwin mum, Alison Reedy, couldn't imagine she'd be here today.
00:10I woke up to the worst headache of my life. I'd describe it as an ice pick behind my eye
00:18here and a pulling band, like a tearing sensation across up here.
00:23After months of sporadic symptoms like vertigo and fatigue, the then 38-year-old thought it was just a migraine.
00:31The headache got worse, I started dry retching, the room was spinning, I couldn't hear properly, I couldn't see out
00:40of this eye at all and I was starting to not see out of this eye either.
00:43She was rushed to hospital.
00:45They did a CT scan very quickly and I won't forget the poor nurse coming up to me saying that
00:53I just wanted to know, do you know you've had a stroke?
00:58And I went, oh, no.
01:01Sometimes the signs can be subtle and it can be as little as general confusion or a bit of slurred
01:09speech that then resolves as well, so it's not always obvious.
01:13The acronym used in an emergency is FAST, F is their face drooping, A can they lift both their arms,
01:21S is their speech slurred and T time is critical.
01:27And it's a word Territorians should know.
01:29In the Northern Territory, awareness of the signs of stroke and the symptoms and what to do is actually lower
01:35than the rest of the country, which is really concerning.
01:37During her recovery, Alison relied on mobility aids, but gradually regained her movement and is now a leader in para
01:45athletics.
01:46She hopes others going through the same experience are better equipped than she was to recognise the signs.
01:52A reminder to think fast.
01:56A reminder to think fast.
01:56A reminder to think fast.
01:56whether it was at this point that the evidence had to keep an eye out than Dr.
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