Phillip Island stroke survivor Stephen Fullarton reunites with the people who saved his life

A Phillip Island man who suffered a stroke while surfing has reunited with those who saved his life one year ago.

A Phillip Island man who had a stroke while stand up paddle boarding last year has been reunited with the paramedics and a surfer who saved him, one year on.

It was an emotional reunion as Stephen Fullarton met Dean Schenk and Immogen Nolan, the people who saved his life just one year ago.

For them, the reunion was a happy relief.

“It’s been just over a year now and these cases don’t always have great outcomes,” Ms Nolan said.

“So it is great to see that he is not only alive but functioning almost to a normal capacity.”

There were hugs and handshakes as Mr Fullerton thanked Mr Schenk and Ms Nolan for their service on the day.

“The main factor in my survival was I was able to be treated as quickly as I was. I was just lucky someone saw me collapse on my board and the paramedics came so quickly. They saved me,” Mr Fullerton said.

Mr Schenk said he and Ms Nolan actually saw Mr Fullerton later the same night when they did another job landing them at the Alfred.

“He had deteriorated and couldn’t even remember who we were,” he said.

“So to go from that to where he is now, it’s just incredible.”

For three days in 2021, there’d been huge waves at Crazy Birds beach so, on June 2, Mr Fullarton, now 70, snuck out for a post-lunch surf.

But what was supposed to be a peaceful paddleboard quickly took a turn for the worse.

“I was on a wave and a surfer watching me noticed I had just stopped, fell forward into the water and remained under the water,” he said.

“I don’t remember much of the day but I remember coming off my board and being underwater and it was really peaceful looking up through the water at the surface but I knew something wasn’t right.”

Dean Schenk, Stephen Fullarton, Daniel Seale and Immogen Nolan were reunited after they worked as a team to save Stephen from a severe stroke.

He didn’t know it but the then 69-year-old was having a haemorrhagic stroke.

Luckily there were a group of surfers nearby who recognised he was in strife and dragged him to shore.

One of those surfers was Daniel Seale, 34, who noticed Stephen when he came off his board.

“I thought something pretty serious is going on here so I paddled out to him and this wave swamped him,” he said.

“He didn’t resurface so I was just imagining how I was going to get him back. I will never forget looking down at him and he just had these big blue eyes and his face was all grey and his lips were purple.”

After a frantic struggle to get Stephen’s dead weight on his board, a wave picked up the pair and drove them over nearby rocks and closer to shore.

Stephen Fullarton had a stroke while on his stand-up paddle board in the surf off Phillip Island. He was rescued by locals and is undertaking an amazing recovery. Picture: Mark Stewart

Stephen caught up with the two men who pulled him from the surf along the rugged coastline, Larson Henderson (tan jacket) and Daniel Seale (leather jacket). Picture: Mark Stewart

“That wave came by the grace of god,” Mr Seale said.

Finally able to stand on a reef, Mr Seale placed his arms hands under Stephen’s shoulders to keep his face out of the water.

But with a cliff preventing them moving any further and waves crashing over them, Mr Seale said he was running out of energy and ideas.

It was at this time Larsen Henderson, 47, who had climbed the 200 stairs up the cliff to his car looked down and saw drama playing out in the waves below.

He rushed down to help and once they had Stephen resting on a rock they got a friend to call triple-0.

An ambulance quickly arrived and Mr Fullerton was receiving specialist treatment at the Alfred Hospital, shortly after.

“The time from being in the water to being in emergency at The Alfred was probably only an hour-and-a-half.”

Mr Schenk and Ms Nolan arrived and instantly knew this was a serious case.

Mr Schenk said the conditions of the beach made it tricky to get Mr Fullerton out initially.

“We hatched a plan to get him into a vac-mat and then a group of surfers helped us carry him up the stairs and put him into the ambulance,” he said.

Stephen Fullarton had a stroke while on his stand-up paddle board in the surf off Phillip Island. He was rescued by locals. Picture: Mark Stewart

Ms Nolan said it was lucky Mr Fullerton pulled through the way he did as the outcomes for these types of strokes were “not usually good”.

“It took some time to get to him and at the time I was thinking we needed to get additional resources due to the terrain,” she said.

“These are the types of cases I will reflect on for the rest of my career.”

During 2022 National Stroke Week, Mr Fullerton wants to encourage other survivors to know there is life after stroke.

Mr Fullerton still has weakness in his right leg and is unable to drive but he is determined to get back on the board, catching waves.

“I want to give people confidence to continue with their rehab. It takes time and it’s frustrating that you seem to not be progressing as you wish but when you look back you realise you’ve achieved quite a bit, it’s just perseverance,” he said.

He is also encouraging people to know the common signs of stroke which include, facial droop, inability to lift arms and slurred speech.

Stroke Foundation chief executive Sharon McGowan said Mr Fullerton’s story was an example of why acting quickly was crucial to recovery.

“Everyone’s stroke recovery journey is different and happens at a different rate but what we do know is the earlier you recognise a stroke and the sooner you seek specialist emergency treatment, the better your chance of recovery. Time is of the essence. When a stroke strikes, it attacks up to 1.9 million brain cells per minute so acting quickly is crucial and it starts with knowing the F.A.S.T signs,” she said.

Mr Fullerton has thanked all of the people who were involved in saving his life.

“Ambulance Victoria, Daniel, Larson, the stroke foundation, the Alfred, all of them, I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t do some amazing work,” he said.

National Stroke Week runs from August 8-14.