Just because I had a stroke doesn't mean I don't have a voice.
What powers Stroke Survivors to keep going?
We advocate "Four-Stroke" awareness, to be F.A.S.T.
To BE FAST, we understand that a BALANCED approach needs to be taken to keep an EYE on what matters most.
Pulling a FACE at events that too many Australians are experiencing today, we know from wisdom and experience what it takes to tackle a situation FACE on.
Our failure to raise ARMS in defiance of what ails us, should not be taken as a sign of weakness, it is a cry for help!
While our SPEECH may be slurred or incomprehensible, it is the words to the face of death "Not today!" that matter the most.
When TIME is of the essence, we know that to BE FAST is to Act FAST and to Think FAST by getting help as soon as possible.
As one of the everyday Australians that suffers a stroke every 11 minutes, and one in every four that is under 65 years of age, I am extremely fortunate to be where I am today even after a slow start.
Emotion is a powerful motivator, even anger when channeled in a positive way. Having traveled there and back again to Finish F.A.S.T for Stroke Awareness & Prevention, I have endeavoured (sometimes successfully and sometimes not so) to focus on the positive. Stroke is change and requires hard work to have any sort of recovery. If you have never suffered a stroke, think about the effort involved, and time needed to get your non-dominate hand, eye, and foot to the level of your dominant hand, eye and foot. That is even before you consider the mental aspects.
My message for my fellow stroke survivors is, "open your eyes to how the Stroke Foundation and the Victorian Government truly view your experience". Due to my experiences which I have outlined in the following paragraphs, I am loath to provide money to an organisation that claims to "listen to, respect, and involve those impacted by stroke in everything we do". I do however, fully support giving time and effort to advocating for stroke awareness and prevention.
So as a former VPS employee when I recently I discovered that a Public Service Medal was awarded to Departmental Secretary who once used Donald Trump as a (supposedly) motivational background image during a Departmental all-staff meeting, without apparent consequence, I have to question why I was treated so differently.
As someone who experienced a Brain Bleed (Stroke) in July 2021, I was told I was being too critical to point out that the get-well e-card misspelt my name and the email that arranged it misrepresented my circumstances. Given that due to my stroke, I underwent a craniotomy and woke from a two-week coma, surrounded by strangers because my family was denied seeing me in person unless it is end-of-life (covid-19 pandemic restrictions). As I was unable to speak due to a tracheostomy, I was handed a whiteboard that others impacted by stroke have stated it taking just under 4 years to write legibly to communicate with was not bad enough, being told I was being too critical was not taken well. It appears that my expectations were too high given that my name was used five times, three times with the correct spelling and twice with the incorrect spelling (which included the card). This was an email that was seen by 100 Victorian Public Servants and several executives, one of which included a Deputy Secretary that already held a Public Service Medal for Service Excellence and Leadership. That is the sympathy I was shown for spending 32 days in hospitals with no physical access to my loved ones and being nearly discharged in the hospital foyer or footpath if my wife hadn't insisted on a proper briefing.
If this was my only issue then fair enough, I could live with that but given that I was once denied a pay increment during an employee performance plan review because - as quoted by an independent reviewer during the grievance process- my manager's assessment (which was never communicated to me) was that I had not shown ‘leadership at the behavioural and cultural level’ to meet the “high bar” required of my level. Even after the external reviewer found that the process to assess my performance was flawed. People & Culture (P&C) had stated that the Division's Approach was not sanctioned by Human Resources and should not have been circulated. It was also explained that requiring employees to achieve a stretch goal (which I achieved) in order to get progression, as the Division's Approach did, was inconsistent with the Department's performance management process and the applicable EBA. So even after all those findings, I was denied my grievances and increment.
On another occasion prior to my stroke, instead of raising a grievance, I consulted the Workplace Conciliator about a possible unlawful email the team I was in received about having to sign a confidentiality agreement that was not in keeping with the EBA. The first thing I was told was that I should consider resigning as putting the Secretary in a bad light would destroy my career. Ironically, it was one of these executives that couldn't spot the error that ruled that the action wasn't unlawful (which I still don't fully understand the legality of).
While I was denied my grievances, the Deputy Secretary with the PSM on the email was promoted by the government and the head of P&C (the executive with oversight of the grievance process) oversaw a process that made my position (and others) redundant. I had the pleasure of being informed about my redundancy in a meeting where slides were presented showing another person's name against the name of my position. This was later explained as an administrative error. As the process required, alternate proposals were called for and my response wasn't received within the timeframe given by the EBA.
From there, I went on to discover how tough the job market really is and endured close to 2 years of rejection or not getting a response even after interviews were held (one of those included a company that prided itself on service excellence yet couldn't provide a response), before managing to obtain some work. In my opinion, trying to find a job in the current market is harder than recovering from stroke.
What hurts the most about my experiences is that for whatever reason, my first encounter with the stroke foundation was more than two years after my stroke where I was asked for a donation. I had hoped to share the positive aspects of my experience and recovery by sharing my story, like so many others have been able to do. For some still unknown reason, this has not occurred. It is a pity that it took another (non-stroke) charitable organisation to publish my achievements since my stroke (Thank you, Parkrun - Finishing FAST with Damian Toohey). This has led me to the situation which I now find myself in, writing a story without holding back the truth (negative aspects) and wondering if individuals still truly live the values they espouse. If the Stroke Foundation truly values Courage, Excellence, Compassion, Integrity, and Leadership, it is time for them to stand up and show them.
Having genuinely been unable to speak due to a tracheostomy, I know there are some things I cannot keep quiet about.
Just because I had a stroke doesn't mean I don't have a voice.
Damian Toohey
Stroke Survivor