World Stroke Day: How a cup of coffee saved a life

It was a typical workday like any other for Project Coordinator Stephen Sands, until a stop at Z Merrilands for a coffee saved his life from a stroke.

“I woke up in the morning, put the kettle on and had breakfast, it was all very normal,” says Stephen. “I stopped at Z Merrilands on the way to work for a coffee. Once I arrived, I was disorientated, I couldn’t find my wallet anywhere.”

Z Merrilands staff member Emma Sleep recalls asking Stephen if he wanted his coffee and noticing that he just didn’t seem quite like his usual chipper self.

“I asked him, are you alright?”

“And I just said no,” says Stephen.

Emma got Stephen a cup of water which he dropped. She noticed that he was struggling with his right hand and speech, and something told her this was serious, so she called 111.

When Stephen arrived at The Base ED he couldn’t speak, says Stroke Clinical Nurse Specialist John Chalissery.

“He could only make the sound ‘mmm’ and he had no movement of his right hand, and his right leg was weak,” recalls John.

It was around 8am when Stephen was transported to Taranaki Base Hospital via ambulance. An urgent CT scan showed Stephen was having a large stroke and by 11am he was in Auckland city hospital, flown via Taranaki rescue helicopter to receive a time critical clot retrieval procedure where the clot in his brain was removed and a stent was put into his neck. Stephen spent a night in Auckland before flying back to Taranaki Base Hospital.

Now Stephen is back up on his feet and chatting away once more. Although it can still be a bit difficult finding how to say the right words at times, Stephen is well on track to recovery. When he’s talking about something he’s passionate about, like cricket, you wouldn’t even be able to tell he’s recently suffered a stroke.

Stephen reunited with Emma and had the chance to thank her. She has been thinking of him and how he’s been doing.

“I’m just so happy you’re okay,” says Emma to Stephen, “we’ve been worried sick.”

Emma’s advice for anyone else who sees something unusual is “when in doubt always call an ambulance straight away and keep talking to the person” and you may just save a life.

As a result of the experience Stephen has made the decision to quit smoking and hasn’t touched a cigarette since his stroke. Smoking is one of the major risk factors for strokes, along with high blood pressure.

Stroke is the biggest cause of adult disability in NZ. When it comes to a stroke, every minute counts as 1.9 million brain cells die each minute.

Treatment for stroke is very time critical, the faster a stroke patient receives medical treatment, the better their chance is of survival and successful rehabilitation says John.

“Please do not wait to get help, call 111 and come to the hospital, your life depends on it. Stroke can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any age.”

Stephen’s dream is to tiki tour around New Zealand in his renovated campervan. Thanks to the team at Z, St Johns, and Health New Zealand kaimahi, it looks like Stephen’s dream will become a reality very soon.

John says the best way to prepare yourself is to learn the F.A.S.T. acronym which highlights the common signs of stroke.

“Anyone who can remember the F.A.S.T acronym can be a hero,” says John. “Please learn it and help us by sharing it with your whanau, friends, and colleagues.”

Know the signs of a stroke using the acronym FAST: F for face - check their face, has their mouth drooped? A for arms - can they lift both arms? S for speech - is their speech slurred, do they understand you? And T for time - time is critical, call 111 immediately.