Warning signs ultra-fit mum-of-two and surfer experienced in moments before life-changing health episode Mother, 43, suffered two strokes on same day She reveals warning sign she initially missed READ MORE: New details after Aussie cricket star suffers stroke By David Southwell For Daily Mail Australia Published: 12:05 BST, 23 August 2024 | Updated: 12:10 BST, 23 August 2024 e-mail 1 View comments A creeping paralysis was the only warning sign that an active mother-of-two and avid surfer was experiencing back-to-back strokes. Jenny Hellyer, 43, was coming home from a day spent on the beach with her family in the Northern Rivers region of NSW on January 6 when she began to feel a paralysis creeping through her right leg. She didn't notice anything at first because she was in the passenger seat while her husband was driving, but that quickly changed when they got home.
'When I went to get out of the car my leg collapsed underneath me,' she told 9News . 'It felt like my leg was a flag flapping in the breeze, like it wasn't connected to my body at all. I tried to take a few steps and I just couldn't walk.
'Nothing was making sense. I was thinking maybe it was a tic or a snake bite. I was trying to work it out.
' Things got worse when Ms Hellyer suffered numbness to half her face and suddenly had 'a strong metallic taste' in her mouth. She questioned if it could be a stroke but reasoned she was 'too young'. Jenny Hellyer, 43, was a very fit and active mother who was shocked to find.