A self-confessed 'former fitness club junkie' and runner, Exmouth's Greg Hamilton was regularly surfing up to six hours a day before a stroke suddenly left him paralysed. The 72-year-old non-smoker and non-drinker was the ultimate picture of health and fitness as he hit the waves on September 14, 2022 - with his wife, Naomi Mallin, watching on. Minutes later and completely out of the blue, Greg's right hand slipped from his paddle. As he tried to grasp it, he found he couldn’t move his hand. Then Greg's right leg gave 'way and he fell onto his board. Greg had suffered a debilitating Basal Ganglia Haemorrhagic Stroke.
In episode #104 of the Flying Doctor podcast, we hear how the critical hours after Greg's stroke were heroically managed by Naomi and the other first responders on the beach that day. Naomi recalls Greg calling for help and thinking that he had 'just hurt his shoulder'. But moments later, as Greg was pulled for the water by his friends and nearby onlookers, Naomi realised he was displaying all the class symptoms of a stroke - including facial droop, partial paralysis and slurred speech. Due to their remote beach location and Greg's time critical care, the decision was made to drive Greg directly to the nearest hospital at Exmouth. Greg's stroke happened at 6.30am and by 9:30am, he was being flown out to Perth by the RFDS, before being admitted to Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital for treatment and rehabilitation.
Nearly two years on from his life-changing stroke, Greg has been working hard to regain his strength and mobility, using a powerful therapy training combination of fitness training, pilates and swimming. A daily trip to the beach is also a core part of Greg's recovery - so Naomi is also getting plenty of coaching and advice from the beach these days! Greg is also eagerly awaiting his new adaptive surfboard to be made - so he can get back to where he belongs. Surfing his favourite waves and enjoying some much needed 'vitamin SEA'.
The Australian Stroke Foundation's advice is to think FAST and always look for these signs. FACE is drooped, ARMS can't be raised, SPEECH is slurred or confused and TIME is critical, so call 000.
