Stroke victim counts her blessings
Cheryl Tonkin had always supported a range of charities. She just didn’t know that one day she would need their services herself. NATALIE HOLMES chatted to this amazing lady about survival, support and not taking anything for granted.
CHERYL TONKIN is lucky to be alive after suffering not just one, but two strokes.
“I shouldn’t be here,” she says. “I’m incredibly lucky.”
Before her first stroke, Cheryl was living an active life in Sydney where she worked in school administration and enjoyed the outdoors and keeping fit.
“I was really healthy, I did exercise and had no health problems,” she said.
“I only went to the doctor for regular check-ups.”
On the night it happened, Cheryl felt a bit off-balance and dizzy, but went to bed as usual.
“It was a Friday night and I had been to work, went home and spent time in the garden and cooked dinner,” she explained.
“I had no pain and there was nothing else.”
When she woke up, Cheryl felt that something was amiss, but she wasn’t worried or scared.
“I knew something was wrong,” she said. “But I didn’t know what it was.”
She rang her younger brother, and upon detecting her slurred speech, he acted immediately.
“He couldn’t understand me but he recognised my voice. He got me to Manly Hospital where it took several months to recover.”
The stroke came as a complete shock to Cheryl and her family.
“It took everybody by surprise. Strokes don’t run in my family. It was completely out of the blue.”
Afterwards, Cheryl couldn’t walk or talk and had to relearn a lot of things that she had always been able to do.
“Even making a cup of tea became the scariest thing. I wasn’t really aware of what was going on. I was just in this bubble.”
At the time, the plucky grandmother had a young grandson who was just one year old. After her hospital stay, Cheryl was able to move to her daughter’s place in Dubbo, where he became a major factor in her recovery.
“He was my inspiration. It’s what has got me here today. I decided that Patrick wasn’t going to have a Nanna like that.
“When things got hard, I’d think of him. It absolutely motivated me. “I learnt to walk again pushing his pram.” Unfortunately, a second stroke was not too far away.
“The second stroke was not as bad and I knew exactly what it was,” she says, matter-of-factly.
It’s now been many years since her life was turned upside down by two strokes, but Cheryl has been able to use the experience to help others.
“I have always been a supporter of charities,” she explained of her connection to the Include a Charity movement which urges people to consider leaving a gift to charity in their will.
“There were a few that I regularly supported, such as the Cancer Council and The Heart Foundation,” Cheryl said.
“If we don’t support them, they can’t possibly do the research, fund the cost of equipment and buy drugs to save lives.”
Before her own ordeal though, Cheryl had not heard much about the work of the Stroke Foundation.
“I had never known anyone who’d had a stroke, so the Stroke Foundation wasn’t on my radar,” she admitted.
“Now I am very involved in the Stroke Foundation. They are very close to my heart.”
She is also part of the local Stroke Support Group and likes to be there for others.
“We are there to help other people to try and inspire them that there is life after stroke. Some people don’t know how to get help.”
As a survivor, Cheryl has gained a new outlook.
“It’s given me a very different perspective of life. Stupid things happen and I used to get upset and stressed. Now the little things don’t bother me.”
She is also grateful to have the opportunity now to be with her family.
“Every day is a bonus. If I hadn’t had the strokes, I’d still be in Sydney, working fulltime and driving to Dubbo to see my grandchildren. Now I get to spend time with them all the time.”
For more information:
National Stroke Week runs from September 4 to 10. Include a Charity Week runs from September 11 to 17. Stroke Foundation, visit strokefoundation. org.au Dubbo Stroke Support Group meets second Wednesday of each month 10am to 12 noon David Palmer Centre Old Lourdes Hospital 84 Cobborah Road, Dubbo Phone 6885 4800