The day that Camperdown tradie Mark Fitzgerald suffered a stroke started out like any other: his daughter Claudia went to school, his wife Kelly went to work at the dentistry and he met his fellow workmates on site ready to start the next big labour-intensive job.
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What he didn't know that morning was that about an hour into work as a concreter and bricklayer he would suffer a stroke that would leave him partially paralysed and without speech.
He was flown to Melbourne where he spent 10 intensive days in hospital, and then spent almost four months at South West Healthcare.
Now over two years on, he is sharing his story to raise awareness for Speech Pathology Week.
Mark has been receiving speech therapy for two years. When he first had the stroke he couldn't talk or swallow, and had to be on a liquid diet. Now he can form sentences and enjoy his favourite meal - steak and chips - with his family again.
It is hard, I know what I'm going to say but I can't say it.
- Mark Fitzgerald
"It is hard, I know what I'm going to say but I can't say it," he said.
"I was at work when it happened, at eight or nine o'clock. My cousin is a builder and knew I was having a stroke and drove me to the hospital.
"I couldn't talk and had weakness down one side."
He later discovered the stroke was caused by a hole in his heart. His road to recovery has been a long and winding one, but he is making great progress.
"I have got my license back after two years and I'm back playing golf. Before my stroke I was a seven and now I'm on 33.7. I can't hit it very far but I'm getting better.
"I want to be back at seven."
With the loss of function in his right hand, Mark still can't return to work. He said his 13-year-old daughter Claudia and wife Kelly have been huge supports.
"I will go back to work, but not yet," he said.
"Kelly and Claudia have been big helps, they come into speech and OT with me."
South West Healthcare speech pathologist Sheree Hammersley has been helping Mark find his voice again. She said Mark had come a long way in those two years.
"When Mark first came to us he had trouble swallowing and chewing, so he was on vitamised food and his drinks were a bit thicker to help him swallow," Sheree said.
"This is a man who loves his steak and chips, so it was a huge difference for him to be on such a heavily modified diet.
"We did swallowing assessments and rehab and and were able to get him back to eating normal food which was a huge improvement to his quality of life. We eat so much, it's such a social thing to do, so when all that changes it can have a big impact.
"Following quite extensive speech therapy he is now talking in sentences. Like Mark said, he knows what he wants to say, but there's that breakdown trying to get it out.
"I can't even imagine the frustration it would have been for him. Now he's talking in sentences, getting involved in the community and is back home. He's come a really long way.
Mark's positive attitude has had such a huge impact on his recovery
- Sheree Hammersley
"Mark's positive attitude has had such a huge impact on his recovery."
She said the most touching moment was when Mark said his own name again for the first time.
"It still sticks with me today, I just remember him saying it, then realising he'd just said his own name. Then we did it when Kelly when she was visiting and he said her name too.
"I'll never forget it, she just came and wrapped him up in her arms. She was crying, Mark was crying, I was crying.
"Just a happy moment that forever sticks in my head. It was that moment we knew, this was going to work."
Ms Hammersley said speech pathology is a profession that not many people know much about.
"We see patients right through the lifespan, we work with swallowing, with voice, with language, with comprehension, reading, writing - we work with so much but we can't fit it all on a name badge," she said with a laugh.
"This is why we do Speech Pathology Week every year, because there might be someone out in the community that may need help but may not think to come to a speech pathologist.
"Any changes with speech or voice then has an overall impact on communication with other people, and communication is the ability to have a relationship with other people, to show your personality, to express yourself and for that to be limited or taken away from you, I cant even imagine the frustration or pain.
"If we can help, we're happy. That's why it's so rewarding and that's why I'm passionate about what I do."
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