Fit, healthy and just 49, the thought of having a stroke was the last thing on Lorrence Rondon's mind.
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But she has spent the months since December 1 slowly re-learning to do all the things she used to take for granted.
She has welcomed a new Stroke Foundation service to come to Canberra called StrokeConnect, which will link stroke patients up with support services - a process she at times found difficult to navigate.
"The day of my stroke I just had a normal day - I'm pretty much a healthy person; I eat properly, exercise and had just finished a beauty therapy course and got a new job." Ms Rondon said.
She remembers being woken up by her husband on the couch not realising she had even fallen asleep.
"I went to put my glass in the kitchen before bed but it fell through my left hand," Ms Rondon said.
She walked towards her bedroom and felt the left side of her body "melt away".
"I remember saying 'I think I'm having a stroke'," Ms Rondon said.
She was taken by ambulance to hospital where she spent the next six weeks recovering.
Since then she has dedicated herself to rehabilitation, working hard to gradually gain control of her left arm which was left paralysed.
Ms Rondon still has a limp and weakness in her hand and experiences fatigue but is determined to keep getting better, but said it was not always easy to know where to turn for help.
"It was extremely emotional, obviously you ask 'why, why me?'" she said.
"Anything that can help and encourage people to get help when you've gone through this is a good thing, it can be very daunting"
Stroke Foundation’s StrokeConnect program will expand post-discharge care and support for stroke patients in the ACT.
The program is a follow-up service that involves a health professional contacting a stroke patient after they have left hospital to provide them with information, advice, support and referrals.
It has already been implemented in Queensland, Victoria and NSW.
Stroke Foundation ACT State Manager Teresa Howarth welcomed the funding for StrokeConnect and said it would ensure local stroke survivors and their loved ones have the support and services they needed to live well after stroke.
“Stroke is potentially devastating and happens without warning, leaving the individual and their families with no time to prepare," she said.
“This program complements existing support for stroke survivors and their loved ones by providing much needed help on their return home, which for some is described as the most challenging phase of their recovery."
The program was a 2016 election promise from the ACT Government, which has now committed $320,000 over four years.
“StrokeConnect is a unique opportunity to further look at how post-discharge care programs work. Valuable data and learning will contribute to the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry, which will be an asset to clinicians and health professionals in the ACT," Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris said.
“A small steering group of clinicians and Stroke Foundation representatives will monitor StrokeConnect in the ACT across four years to examine the program’s effectiveness and whether StrokeConnect’s approach can be adopted for other disease groups and conditions to ultimately improve health outcomes for other residents of the ACT and surrounding regions."
