Sunday Night host Chris Bath reveals pain of her father's stroke

SUNDAY Night host Chris Bath delivered a deeply emotional report last night about her family's pain in the hope others can avoid the same fate.

LAST night on Sunday Night host Chris Bath presented a deeply emotional report about a man named Don, a devoted husband of almost 50 years, a loving father and grandfather who suffered a stroke four years ago.

The story is particularly close to Bath's heart - Don is her father.

"I was really close to my dad growing up. I was the tomboy so I was the one who went sailing with him," an emotional Bath tells Channel 7's Sunday Night.

"We're very similar in a lot of ways, we're both really stubborn people, we both expect a level of loyalty and honesty from people which probably verges on unreasonable. We both have a very strong sense of morality."

Don's stroke in April 2009 left him paralysed down his right side and badly affected his speech and ability to feed himself.

The current affairs program host went public about her family's private struggle in an attempt to draw attention to the lack of support offered to stroke victims and their families in Australia.

"The reason why I'm doing this story and the reason I'm talking about what my family's been through is to try and say to the government and to stroke survivors and their families - come on, pony up! We need to do something about this!"

Every 10 minutes in Australia someone suffers a stroke. It is also the second biggest killer in this country, despite the fact that 80 per cent of strokes are preventable.

The brutally honest report is an important wake-up call to the government and was guaranteed to tug on the heartstrings of viewers nationwide last night.

It was also an incredibly brave decision by the 46-year-old presenter to place herself on the other side of the camera to deliver such a significant message.

"I miss that I can't really go to him for advice," Bath says.

Signs that someone has had a stroke

Using the FAST test involves asking three simple questions:

Face: Check their face. Has their mouth drooped?

Arm: Can they lift both arms?

Speech: Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?

Time: Is critical. If you see any of these signs call 000 straight away.

The signs of stroke may occur alone or in combination and they can last a few seconds or up to 24 hours and then disappear.