Castlemaine’s Noel Thomas has the quick thinking and brisk actions of others to thank for the fact that he’s back at home and getting on with life after suffering a stroke in recent weeks.
Noel says that while he thought he may have been having a stroke, he wasn’t able to do anything about it himself, when the medical emergency struck while he was at home on the afternoon of June 10.
Luckily his quick-thinking wife, Claire, recognised the signs from a tiny fridge magnet they had displayed in the house.
The magnet advised: “facial weakness-drooping; arm-weakness-inability to lift; speech problems-slurred; time to call 000”
Claire sprung into action and called for an ambulance and from there, paramedics took Noel to hospital.
His clot was able to be retrieved in under five hours from the onset of symptoms meaning Noel is now recovering and back enjoying life at home in Castlemaine.
“Claire was right on the ball,” he says.
“She sat me down on the couch and she rang the ambulance and I was very, very lucky because the ambulance got here very very quickly. They went right into action,” he says.
Castlemaine ambulance officers Chris Dunnwill and Joel Hards said Mr Thomas was very fortunate.
“We were extremely concerned about Noel being a country patient,” Chris said.
“We took him to Bendigo for initial treatment and then it was decided he needed to be rushed to Melbourne for clot retrieval.
“The interventional radiologist invited us in to view the procedure which we had never seen before. Noel was placed under anaesthetic and scanned by the radiology team before they quickly worked to remove the clot.
“It was only the size of a pinhead but you could immediately see the improvement in Noel’s brain scans and the radiologist told us they expected Noel to make a full recovery,” Joel said.
Noel says he has very little recollection of what happened after the ambos reached him, but he knows he was rushed to Bendigo and then quickly transferred on to the Royal Melbourne Hospital where, again, he says he was very lucky to quickly receive the vital attention he needed.
“The best surgeon in the world cut me up,” he laughs.
Now Noel says he’s not quite back to 100 per cent but he is thanking his lucky stars, his wife and all the medics who worked so quickly to help him as it’s quick actions that make all the difference to surviving stroke and outcomes for stroke survivors, Ambulance Victoria says.
“I’d say I’m 30 per cent off (being 100 per cent) back to full-function,” Noel says.
Not yet quite able to return to driving a car, riding his bike or swimming, Noel is focused on improving day-by-day and is working through his rehab exercise program which includes enjoying regular strolls around the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens.
The Castlemaine local has been prompted to share his story ahead of National Stroke Week, August 8-14, in the hope that it may make the vital difference for someone else as well.
The main message from Ambulance Victoria is the critical importance of early intervention and quick action for someone suffering a stroke.
“I’m telling you. I’m very lucky,” Noel says.
“You need to get help early.”

The theft of an entire exhaust system from a ute belonging to the Castlemaine Salvation Army has cost the local charity thousands of dollars and impacted on its ability to do its community work.
Thrift shop manager Peter Bottomley says the theft of the $4000 exhaust system happened overnight, Saturday July 16 when the Toyota Hilux utility was parked at the rear of the thrift shop premises on Castlemaine’s Forest Street.
“It was discovered when we turned on the ute the following Tuesday,” the unimpressed thrift shop manager says.
“There was a loud bang and the noise was unbelievable… like a Mack truck or a hole in the muffler.
“But we only found out the full extent of the damage after we took it to the garage and they rang to say the entire exhaust system was gone.”
A shortage of parts at the moment means the exhaust may now not be able to be replaced for some time, impacting on the ability of the local charity to carry out a wide range of charitable community work for which the ute was regularly used, including helping needy people shift into emergency accommodation.
“It’s now being assessed by an insurer to see if the loss can be carried by the insurance company but if it can’t then that’s $4000 we’re going to have to find that could otherwise be directed to our programs in the community,” Mr Bottomley says.
Fortunately CCTV footage was captured and Mr Bottomley says it shows the brazen theft taking place with what appears to be a male culprit detectable using tools to remove the exhaust, while another image shows him endeavouring to climb the fence around the rear yard where the ute was parked at the time.
“He was here for probably an hour and twenty minutes moving in and out from under the ute and getting various tools,” Mr Bottomley says.
“He came equipped. It was a well-planned operation.
“This is another knife in the wound for op shops,” the Salvos thrift shop manager said, naming a wide range of petty thieving with which the charity store regularly contends.
“It’s very frustrating because it’s a loss of income for programs that the Salvation Army runs to support our community.”
The actions in stealing from the charity also flew in the face of the many hours of work poured into the charity by local volunteers.
The incident has been reported to police and Castlemaine’s Leading Senior Constable Charlie Heatherly says theft from vehicles continues to be an ongoing issue.
“It’s a whole exhaust system that’s been taken from a Toyota HiLux ute which is something I haven’t seen before,” LSC Heatherly said.
“If somebody’s been offered a whole exhaust system recently, or has suddenly noticed someone with a new exhaust system that’s a bit suspicious contact Castlemaine Police or Crime Stoppers.
“We are looking through the CCTV footage and it’s an ongoing investigation.”