{"id":645703,"date":"2026-10-30T09:12:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T09:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/645703\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T09:12:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T09:12:36","slug":"stroke-at-42-vicki-connor-shares-how-a-fridge-magent-saved-her-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/645703\/","title":{"rendered":"Stroke at 42: Vicki Connor shares how a fridge magent saved her life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Halfway through a 500-metre set at her 6am swim squad, Vicki Connor\u2019s left arm stopped working. The former elite athlete told herself to push on. But then she
swam into the lane rope and couldn\u2019t get off it.<\/p>\n

Vicki, 43, recalls, \u201cMy competitive rowing mindset went, \u2018Just keep going.\u2019 Then my next thought was, \u2018I think I\u2019m having a stroke.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Then just 42, the Aucklander believes the only thing that saved her was a fridge magnet.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been in the same spot for as long as she can remember \u2013 front and centre on the fridge in the house that once belonged to her parents. It spells out FAST, the acronym for spotting the signs of a stroke, which stands for face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty and take action by calling 111.<\/p>\n

\"\" (Credit: Amalia Osborne)<\/p>\n

Vicki suspects her parents, Peter and Barbara, donated money to the Stroke Foundation and were sent the magnet as a thank you.<\/p>\n

\u201cI obviously read it enough times to take in what to look out for,\u201d she reflects.<\/p>\n

By the time she\u2019d got to the shallow end of the pool, Vicki was struggling to stand. Dragging herself out of the water, she fell over while gathering her things, before checking her face in the bathroom mirror.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was definitely a facial droop. I was like, \u2018OK, I\u2019m definitely having a stroke.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Vicki spent a month in hospital recovering.<\/p>\n

Hauling herself upstairs to reception, she called an ambulance and when paramedics on the phone asked her to hold both arms out in front, she toppled backwards.<\/p>\n

Vicki had suffered a haemorrhagic stroke \u2013 a bleed deep in the thalamus, which relays the brain\u2019s sensory information. Doctors believe a clotting condition and the long-term blood thinners she takes for it may have played a part.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like my parents saved my life, even though they\u2019re no longer here,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

Earlier that year, Peter had died unexpectedly in February and Barbara passed away five months later.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would\u2019ve known something wasn\u2019t right, but without seeing that fridge magnet for most of my life, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019d have acted as quickly as I needed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Son Zain with her late parents Barbara and Peter.<\/p>\n

Following the stroke, Vicki spent a month in hospital, determined to be home for Christmas with her son Zain, nine. She had to relearn how to walk, butter toast and make a cup of tea.<\/p>\n

When her therapy putty proved too tough, Zain bought Vicky a squishy sensory cat to squeeze instead. Then one morning, she woke up and simply opened her hand.<\/p>\n

She recalls, \u201cBeing able to lift my arm and wave to a nurse across the hallway was like, \u2018Oh, my God!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But for communications specialist and speaker Vicki, the hardest part of recovery came after she returned home. <\/p>\n

Funded rehab stopped six weeks later. Because a stroke is a medical event rather than an accident, ACC doesn\u2019t cover it. As a contractor, she had no employer to return to and, as a solo mum to Zain, who\u2019s autistic, no partner to lean on.<\/p>\n

\"\" (Credit: Amalia Osborne)<\/p>\n

She went back to work after three months \u2013 lasting just six weeks before her recovery went backwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cPost-stroke fatigue is debilitating. It\u2019s not, \u2018I\u2019m tired and I\u2019ll feel better after a sleep.\u2019 It\u2019s literally, \u2018I can\u2019t move!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Her short- to medium-term memory remains patchy and she sometimes has to sleep through an entire weekend just to survive the five days ahead.<\/p>\n

With no income, Vicki\u2019s had to rely on the Supported Living Payment to keep a roof over her and Zain\u2019s heads. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to be in this situation,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t want to feel like I could be on track to losing my house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding work again has been tough. Job interviewers often ask for examples of past projects and her memory loss makes those tough to recall.<\/p>\n

With unemployment at record levels, she hasn\u2019t dared tell potential bosses about her devastating stroke.<\/p>\n

Vicki explains, \u201cIf there\u2019s another candidate who isn\u2019t going to need any difference in the way they work, my fear is they\u2019ll take them instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

A friend who\u2019s a rehab specialist helps her out, while other kind souls assist with cooking meals, cleaning and providing childcare.<\/p>\n

Moving back into her childhood home has been a game-changer for Vicki. Though she still has a mortgage to pay on it, Zain, who had withdrawn from the world amid his grief, has started playing outside again.<\/p>\n

Now Vicki is working on another keynote called \u201cSurvival After Surviving\u201d and will speak on a Stroke Aotearoa panel for World Stroke Day<\/a> on 29 October. She tells, \u201cIt\u2019s not just surviving the stroke itself, then you go home and you\u2019re hunky-dory. It\u2019s a real toll on the person and the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more info, see stroke.org.nz<\/a>. To support Vicki, visit her givealittle page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

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