An NRL star has spoken out about the stroke that cut his career short in an effort to make more men aware of one of the country's biggest killers.
North Queensland Cowboys legend Matt Scott is bravely sharing his story in support of Stroke Foundation's Bloke Beside You campaign, which aims to lift the level of Australian men's awareness of stroke.
Matt was just 34 at the time of his stroke. It was a Saturday night in Newcastle, and the Cowboys had headed out to commiserate a huge loss against the Knights. Less than 12 hours later, he was unable to walk properly.
"I woke up feeling really unwell, I put it down to being hungover. I went to the beach to swim it off, but the nausea and fatigue didn't stop," he said.
"Having played the night before, I didn't think it could be anything too serious. But on the bus back to the airport and then on the plane back to Brisbane, I was just getting worse."
Matt never made the connecting flight to Townsville with the rest of his team. Instead, he was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered he had experienced a stroke.
"I had four games left in the season before I was due to retire, it's certainly not the way I wanted to end my career," he said.
"It was pretty devastating to watch on from my hospital bed as my team ran out onto the field. My wife Lauren and my sons were able to walk out holding my jersey."
After a three week stay in hospital, Matt returned to home to Townsville and began his long road to recovery. He threw everything he could into his rehabilitation journey. Now nearly five years later, the veteran player is hoping to improve men's awareness of the key signs of stroke.
Stroke Foundation data shows men's recognition levels of the F.A.S.T. signs is significantly lagging behind that of women, with almost half of Australian men surveyed unable to name any of the three signs.
F.A.S.T. highlights three common stroke indicators: Facial droop, Arms not working, and Slurred speech. The T is a reminder that medical treatment for stroke is time critical. Without it, thousands of Australians die each year or are left with permanent physical and cognitive disabilities.
Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer Dr Lisa Murphy says Matt's story highlights that stroke does not discriminate.
"It's confronting to realise that almost half of the population is unaware of what a stroke looks like, and therefore may not know how critical it is to call an ambulance. We know the faster people access treatment, the more likely they are to prevent death and disability," Dr Murphy said.
"Strokes happen to people of all ages, at any age and at any time. Matt was fit, healthy and active and he still had a stroke.
"If more Australians understand just urgent it is to recognise stroke and get immediate medical treatment, we can change the impact it has on our community and our health system."
