Stroke Calendar

Stroke Calendar

Project 2020-12-18 11:10:59 +1300

Anyone could have a stroke and stroke is a worldwide phenomenon.  The fact that strokes are so prevalent and that they could affect anyone makes this initiative have huge potential.    In New Zealand 11000 people have a stroke each year and the cost to the health system is $1.1 Billion per year.    Little is being done to reduce this number.   The first step in this problem is to raise awareness of stroke.     I believe the calendar will help to do this.   When the calendar is printed some will be mailed out to influencial people in Otago - MPs, District Health Boards and the media.    Most people, me included, believe they will not have a stroke.    This attitude has got to be changed.

 Initially the walks in the calendar are in Otago but my book Historical Journeys, on which the calendar is based, contains a section on how to create stroke walks anywhere.   There are twelve walks in the calendar which encourage a person to get outside and go for a walk.   If it is raining or blowing you can walk inside at museums or shopping malls.    Walking helps with fitness but it also counteracts depression.    A person who goes walking every week has got something to look forward to.   

Walking can also improve mental toughness which is invaluable for a person who has had a stroke.    Your mind learns to do things even if your body is not that keen.   The calendar will be hung up and remains in place for a year.   The calendar has a message about stroke which can be read every month.  

Stroke is not just a New Zealand problem but is in fact a worldwide problem.    It is a very costly problem – to the health system - and yet one that can be easily solved.   The cost to the medical system, while significant, pales into insignificance when compared to the cost to the individual.   Those who have a stroke may have to give up their job or even go into care.    A stroke is to be avoided at all costs.

What about my stroke?   I was downstairs working at home when I had my stroke.    Previously I had worked for the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) but ACC restructured and all the Program Managers were required to move to Wellington.    I used to be the Program Manager for Forestry.

I did not move to Wellington but instead started my own business.     I was downstairs working when I felt dizzy.    The dizziness was quite severe and I knew that if I did not lay down on the floor I would soon fall on the floor.   So, I laid down and then I passed out.    I was taken to Dunedin Public hospital where I remained for a month in a coma and then I was transferred to Wakari hospital, still in a coma, where I was to spend a further three months.    

The Ministry of Health has an acronym to help you detect strokes.    It is FAST which stands for – Face, is it drooping to one side?    Arm – has it lost it strength?    Speech – is it slurred?    Time to call 111.     In my case the acronym would have been of no use whatsoever.   My stroke was caused by a brain bleed and I passed out long before the acronym could be applied.   In reality no one at home new the acrynom anyway.

The Stroke Foundation have about 11000 people in New Zealand having a stroke each year.    The cost to the medical system is $1.1 Billion per year and rising.    The cost to the individual who has a stroke is far higher.    After you have had a stroke, you may have to give up your job and if the stroke was bad, you may have to go into care.

The sad thing is that most strokes can be easily avoided.    All you need to do is check your blood pressure on a regular basis.    You can check your blood pressure at your doctor, at the chemist, or the Stroke Foundation will soon have three vehicles travelling around New Zealand at which you can check your blood pressure.    On the calendar there will be a date marked which is National Blood Pressure Awareness week for checking your blood pressure. 

The calendar provides information on how to avoid a stroke.    We are all at risk and the trigger is high blood pressure.   There is no way of checking your blood pressure except by a doctor, a chemist or your own blood pressure machine.    There are no warning signs of high blood pressure.    One minute you feel fine and the next minute you are having a stroke.

If you are lucky the person standing beside you may recognise that you are having a stroke.    If you are unlucky there will be no one standing beside you.     Stroke is a worldwide phenomenon.    It does not just happen in New Zealand.

More than 445,087 Australians are living with the effects of stroke.   In 2020, the estimated cost of stroke in Australia was $6.2 billion in direct financial impact, and a further $26.0 billion in mortality and lost wellbeing.

Everyone who donates at least $100.00 will eventually become a shareholder in a limited liability company.    They will also receive a calendar.  The calendar is mostly done but is an Otago calendar.    It will be followed next year by other calendars.    

The calendar is illustrated with photographs and has a blurb about each walk.  There will also be a message about the risk of a stroke on the calendar.   Where will the photos for the next calendar come from?    The website will be able to accept photographs sent anywhere in New Zealand – a bit like the Television One Weather website.    The incentive will be just recognition for taking the photograph – your name with the photograph.

Where will the captions/stories come from?   The best idea is to create the walks for various regions in New Zealand, using the web and relevant books and then get the photographs.    For people who have had a stroke the walks should be on the flat, about an hour long, and should finish at a cafe.       

The main requirement of the website is to take payments for the calendar.    The method of taking payments should be Pay Pal which can take credit cards as well as internet banking.   If I am to sell the calendars, I will need some means of taking payments and some way of sending the calendars.   

The calendar has twelve major pictures and each major picture has two smaller pictures which give more detail of the walk.

Here is the link to the calendar pictures

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