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Hi, my name's Caleb, and I survived a major stroke.

Essentially, I went from 24 to 84, overnight...

3 days after my 24th birthday, I was working out at the gym when something exploded in my head and I had a major stroke.

 

The type of stroke I had was a Grade 5 Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (the highest grading of the rarest form of stroke).

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It was caused by a rare brain abnormality that had gone undetected — called a Dural Arteriovenous Malformation (DAVM). 

I was placed in an induced coma, fully ventilated and I spent over a month in the ICU.

 

I awoke to discover I’d lost the ability to walk, talk, swallow, see, or breathe on my own.

 

*I forgot to mention I also relearned to sneeze. Did you know you can do that? You can actually learn how to sneeze?! 

Anyhoodle, this is where my journey began. This is the birthplace of finding and redefining my voice and self after trauma. 

Now, I'm disrupting isolation one story at a time.

CHANGE MAKER

STROKE SURVIVOR.
STORYTELLER.
FACILITATOR.
FOUNDER.

Background: Graffiti brick wall. Foreground: Cal, a young 20's-30's caucasian male, with dark stubble, looking at you, very strong and serious. He wears a dark grey woollen beanie and a black eyepatch.
Cal, a young 30's caucasian male, with dark curly hair, dark stubble, round glasses. Wearing a linen shirt. He is being interviewed by a female presenter in the SBS studio (she is talking to the screen projecting Cal via video link) and is being watched by members of the in-studio audience in the television studio for SBS Insight.

"Cal presented one of the most moving accounts of head injury I have ever heard..."

- Professor Avril Drummond | Healthcare Research U.K.

"I wanted to connect with people who'd been in similar shoes as me.."

"After my stroke, I felt  lost, isolated and alone..."

"So I created a community for people to connect and recreate themselves."

Working with trusted Clients and Partners

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