Elena Lampropoulos, a 20-year-old from southwest Sydney, experienced a life-altering event shortly after her birthday. While using her phone in her bedroom, she suddenly collapsed. Initially attributing her fall to clumsiness, she soon realized something was seriously wrong when she found her right arm and leg unresponsive. "I remember just screaming, like a scream I've never heard come out of my mouth," Lampropoulos recalled, expressing her fear and confusion.

Despite her young age, Lampropoulos recognized the symptoms of a stroke, recalling an advertisement she had seen as a child. She managed to call for an ambulance, but her experience with the emergency dispatcher was frustrating. "She goes, 'You're 20 and you think you're having a stroke?' and then she scoffed at me," Lampropoulos said. This dismissive attitude continued when paramedics arrived, with one smirking and downplaying her condition.

Upon arrival at St George Hospital, scans revealed that Lampropoulos had suffered a rupture of an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a condition involving a tangle of blood vessels in the brain that develops before birth. She was rushed into emergency surgery, which was critical for her survival. Neurosurgeon Mark Davies explained that younger patients like Lampropoulos can deteriorate more quickly than older patients due to less space in their cranial cavities. "Inside your head when you're young, your brain fills the whole space and sort of squishes up on the inside of your skull," he said.

Following her stroke in 2015, Lampropoulos faced significant challenges, including weakness on the right side of her body, known as hemiparesis. She spent about two months in the hospital, where she was the youngest patient in the neurological ward. "I was 20 and I was alone. I had no one to relate to," she said. It took her nearly a decade to regain full movement in her right foot.

In addition to physical rehabilitation, Lampropoulos sought psychological support to cope with the emotional toll of her condition. "I was a mess because again, being 20, you're stuck in a hospital and you see on Instagram everyone's having a great time," she said. Over the years, she struggled with severe depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, feeling a loss of identity as she became reliant on her family for support.

Doctors advised her to delay her studies and work, focusing solely on rehabilitation for five years. Lisa Murphy, CEO of Stroke Foundation Australia, noted that mental well-being is crucial for recovery, especially for younger stroke survivors who face sudden life changes.

Currently, resources for young stroke survivors are limited. The Stroke Foundation's Young Stroke website and Young Stroke Service (YSS) are available in some regions, but these services were not accessible when Lampropoulos had her stroke. Funding for the YSS is set to expire at the end of 2026, raising concerns about ongoing support for young patients.

In recent years, Lampropoulos has made significant strides in her recovery, regaining mobility in her right arm and leg, though she still experiences some weakness. "You just get over it … I've gone this far and worked really hard to get to where I am — I can't allow myself to feel like a failure," she stated.

Last year, she began offering stroke recovery coaching to help younger survivors and raise awareness about the possibility of strokes at any age. Tragically, earlier this year, 27-year-old Australian model Lucy Markoiv died from an AVM, underscoring the need for increased education on stroke risks among young people. Lampropoulos emphasized the importance of awareness, stating, "The only reason I knew I was having a stroke was because of a commercial I saw when I was eight or nine."

Dr. Murphy added that strokes can occur without warning signs, but regular health checks can help mitigate risks. "What we encourage people to do, even if they are young and they think they're invincible, is to go and get a health check with a GP," she said. A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance reiterated their commitment to providing respectful care to all patients, aligning with best-practice guidelines for stroke care.