Welcome return for stroke victim

Former Cardinia Shire councillor Doug Hamilton is at home recovering from a stroke he suffered in October. 26381                                        Picture: Meagan RogersFormer Cardinia Shire councillor Doug Hamilton is at home recovering from a stroke he suffered in October. 26381 Picture: Meagan Rogers

By Melissa Grant
FORMER councillor Doug Hamilton describes himself as fortunate – despite facing his own mortality less than three months ago.
Mr Hamilton is well on the road to recovery after suffering a stroke while behind the wheel of a tractor on his Yannathan Farm on 30 October.
He was sent home for Christmas Day and was released from hospital for good three weeks ago.
Apart from losing 28kg and getting around with a walking stick, the retired civic leader is almost back to his former self, following the major health scare.
Mr Hamilton’s road to recovery has been a bumpy one – initially the outlook was quite positive until complications arose.
“I was feeling good, in fact I was walking around in a couple of days,” he remembered.
But things took a turn for the worse when a blood clot the size of a small football formed in his leg.
“I was that close to being dead,” he said.
Strangely it was his sturdy left leg that became clotted – not the right one which he was scheduled to have a bypass operation on 10 days after his stroke occurred.
And when Mr Hamilton awoke in a hospital bed he thought he was in the hospital where he was scheduled to have the leg bypass. He had no clue that he had just suffered a stroke.
Mr Hamilton had no memory of driving his tractor into several fence posts and trees or of firefighters extricating him from it.
“I honestly can’t remember a thing about it – I woke up and I was in hospital,” he said.
Stroke, also known as cerebrovascular disease, occurs when the supply of blood to the brain is suddenly disrupted and it is imperative to get medical help as soon as possible.
Mr Hamilton said he was extremely lucky that he wasn’t slumped behind his tractor for too long.
“Pam (wife) found me – it was fortunate she was at home and not at work,” he said.
Other than a dodgy leg and feeling tired, Mr Hamilton appears to have suffered no other damage from the stroke.
He considers himself lucky – people who suffer a stroke can be left totally paralysed on one side, in a coma or may die due to the extent of the damage.
Stroke is Australia’s second single greatest killer after coronary heart disease, according to the National Stroke Foundation. Statistics show that one in five people who suffer their first stroke die within one month and one in three die within a year.
“I’m fortunate I haven’t had any major damage,” Mr Hamilton said.
Mr Hamilton has been buoyed by the support of his family – wife Pam, daughter Julianne and son Scott – and the community.
“I can’t thank the public enough for their interest and their comments on my wellbeing,” he said.
Mr Hamilton extended a special thank-you to members of the Rotary Club of Lang Lang, the Cardinia Shire Council and the Lang Lang Community Bank who had been particularly supportive during his ordeal.
Mr Hamilton is unsure of when he will make a full recovery but a stringent rehabilitation program – which includes visits from an occupational therapist and other health professionals – has him on track.
Mr Hamilton sometimes finds it difficult to hold a conversation – but he is not hard of humour.
“They’re trying to get me back to normal, whatever normal is,” he laughed.
“It’s no good giving up. If you have a brain that’s used to some work you have to keep working.”