Paediatric stroke advocate awarded

LITTLE Stroke Warriors co-founder Dee Banks has received the Stroke Foundation President’s Achievement Award.

Ms Banks set up the support group for parents with children who had experienced paediatric stroke in 2017, after her now-seven-year-old daughter Emma suffered a stroke in utero, but wasn’t diagnosed until she was months old.

Over five years, the network has grown to include hundreds of Australian families, and Ms Banks continues to advocate for awareness of the condition, to ensure paediatric stroke patients can be promptly diagnosed and treated.

“This award is significant because it recognises the important work we’re doing, and puts it on the agenda,” she said.

“Little Stroke Warriors co-founder Kylie Facer and I are receiving this on behalf of our community and telling people with lived experience that if there is an injustice, you can make a difference and you can change the system.

“Even though it feels like a bit of a climb, if you get the right people together, you can make a huge change. I couldn’t be here without my Little Stroke Warriors community, their support and willingness to tell their stories.”

Since the group launched, it has grown from a small support network into a government advocacy organisation.

Little Stroke Warriors received $4 million from the Federal Government for the Australian Paediatric Acute Code Stroke project, and the group has produced the Our Family Stroke Journey booklet.

“This is given to parents when their child is diagnosed, helps them to navigate the path forward, and the feedback we’ve received is that it’s life changing,” Ms Banks said.

“It’s something our family needed at the time, but we didn’t have.”

Little Stroke Warriors’ next steps are to “tackle the gaps” in the education system to boost inclusive education for children with disabilities, especially brain injuries.

“It’s important educators know what disability looks like and what a child with brain injury needs so our kids can integrate into school easily,” Ms Banks said.