Stroke survivor’s inspirational 9000km journey to tip of Australia
Source: The 4 Points Australia
When he was just 12 years old, Tommy Quick didn’t think much of his headaches.
But soon after telling his parents he wasn’t feeling well, he lost consciousness and woke up five weeks later in hospital. Utterly lost and unable to speak, he was told he had suffered a stroke.
For a sports-loving child, his sudden disability was a profound blow.
This week, 18 years later, Mr Quick has completed an incredible 9000-kilometre journey to raise money for childhood strokes and their prevention.
“After my stroke, at some points, I didn’t want to be alive any more,” Mr Quick told The New Daily.
He said reaching the tip of Cape York – the final point on his mammoth journey aboard a recumbent tricycle to Australia’s ‘four points’ – was a “goal within a goal”.
And it’s not over yet.
Interrupted journey
In 2021, in the early stages of his trip, Mr Quick was hit by a car in South Australia’s Barossa Valley region, while his parents Clive Quick and Rena Fisken were close behind him in a support vehicle.
Despite the accident, he was determined to finish what he set out to do.
Now Mr Quick said he will be going back to South Australia, to complete the 800km he missed due to the accident.
He plans on getting on his trike again, after the AFL season is over.
Mr Quick was catching up with a friend in 2019, discussing goals.
Unsure about what he wanted to do, his friend floated the idea of riding around Australia
“And I said ‘I like it, I’ll do it!’,” Mr Quick recalled.
The ride was a way for Mr Quick to raise money for the Stroke Foundation, but completing the trip was more than just fundraising.
Busting stereotypes
He wanted to challenge the perception of living with a disability and prove that people can complete their goals.
He also wanted to promote social inclusion and the importance of mateship along the way.
“Everyone wants to be included, everyone wants those social networks,” Mr Quick said.
Joining him on the ride were his parents. Along the way he spoke with communities about his experience, educating people on the fact that strokes can happen at any age.
After he has finished his leg in South Australia, Mr Quick hasn’t got too many “dramatic” plans for the future.
However he goes hope to do some more inclusion workshops at schools and he might give para-cycling a go.
Childhood strokes
A lot of research has been undertaken since 2006, when Mr Quick had his stroke.
We now know that every year, some 600 children in Australia will have a stroke. Although the Stroke Foundation says the incidence are more common in newborns and young babies than older children.
Having a stroke while young can be shattering at any age, but especially when someone has their whole life ahead of them, Mr Quick said.
Globally, one in four people will have a stroke in their lifetime, which is why it is important people realise it can happen, he added.
In Australia, more deaths are attributable to stroke than breast or prostate cancers, but more than 80 per cent of strokes can be prevented the Stroke Foundation said.
The signs to look for
The Stroke Foundation says there are five things you need to look for to determine if someone is having a stroke, known as the F.A.S.T test:
- Face Check their face. Has their mouth drooped?
- Arms Can they lift both arms?
- Speech Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?
- Time Is critical. If you see any of these signs call 000 straight away.
So far, Mr Quick has raised over $100,000 for stroke research, with a goal of $1 million.
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
