GLENN Browne was a merchant seaman for almost 20 years. He sailed the world on all sorts of vessels and had salt air in his blood. He believed his future would be working on ships until he was too old to walk the gangway. But one day in August 2020, his entire life turned upside down.
“I woke up with a pain in my jaw, but I didn’t think much of it. I drove to a mate’s bakery and clipped another car on the way. It was very unlike me to have an accident. “When I arrived at the bakery, I was slurring my words, limping and my arm was dangling. I had all the common signs of a stroke, but I still didn’t know it.” “I went home and must have blacked out. I regained consciousness with my dog Miley licking my face and the phone ringing. By this time my neighbour had already called an ambulance as they had seen me moving oddly, earlier that day.”
Glenn and Miley the dog spent three weeks in the acute ward and two months in rehab, and tests showed that he had a hole in his heart from birth that needed to be fixed. “I had to learn everything again; to walk, to talk and do everyday activities. Stroke is like having the floor ripped out from under you.” “Stroke doesn’t discriminate age. I always thought it only happened to older people. Now I find purpose in building stroke awareness in my community. I think things would have been different for me if I had known earlier that I was having a stroke.”
Browne runs a raffle each week at the Mornington Yacht Club to raise money for their sailability and youth training programs. Since his stroke, he has participated in the Stroke Foundation’s Stride for Stroke and for the last three years he has partnered with the Mornington Yacht Club to hold Sail 4 Stroke. “I’ll be doing everything I can over November to raise awareness of the risks of stroke and raise funds to support other people impacted by stroke,” said Browne.
Sail 4 Stroke will be held at Mornington Yacht Club on 28 November. The event will begin with a twilight race, followed by an evening of entertainment that includes Jessica Watson and live music by Lady Soul. There will be a charity auction with all funds raised going to the Stroke Foundation. Members and non-members alike are invited and tickets are available at: www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1302752.
Browne is asking for local businesses to donate items for an auction to raise finds for the Stroke Foundation, and he can be contacted on at: glennbrowne1965@gmail.com.
First published in the Mornington News – 29 October 2024
