Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

For National Stroke Week earlier this month, I again popped into the S Bar Cafe in Clayfield and attended a stroke awareness event organised by Brisbane local Emily Benham. Emily's a survivor of not one but two strokes of sudden onset as a result of a cardiac arrest, and I've told her story before in this place. Emily's a fighter, and she turned her recovery into a determination to become a strong advocate for stroke awareness, on top of some other amazing volunteering she does for our local community.

At the lunch, I also met Raynah Kassabian from Hamilton, and I want to share her story here today. Raynah was an otherwise healthy 37-year-old at the time of her stroke just last December. Unlike Emily, Raynah suffered a slow-onset stroke. She felt generally unwell, and she put her symptoms down to end-of-year stress and some anxiety regarding a pending overseas trip. It wasn't until later that evening, when Raynah spoke to her mum on the phone and started slurring her words, that emergency care was sought and her stroke was ultimately diagnosed.

So: two very different stories, but a single critical message around this need for greater awareness of the symptoms of stroke. I want to commend the community spirit of both Emily and Raynah, and of so many others, and to commend the ongoing work of the Stroke Foundation for their advocacy.

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