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Paramedics celebrate new year with 11-year-old stroke survivor

Published:
Monday 5 January 2026 at 10:40 am
A female paramedic standing next to a young boy seated on the front of an ambulance vehicle. Two male paramedics are to the right of the boy.
ƬƵ Acting Senior Team Manager Corrinne McKenna, patient Tyson, and paramedics John Holland and Michael Walker.

New Year celebrations were a bit more special for one Warrnambool family this year, having the chance to thank the ƬƵ (AV) paramedics who helped save the life of their 11-year-old boy who had a stroke at school.

It was a Tuesday in early November when Warrnambool mum Nicole Brown was told paramedics had been called to treat her son Tyson after he collapsed.

“When I got to the school, one of the paramedics told me they were treating him for three possibilities – poison, a seizure, or worst-case scenario, a bleed on the brain,” Nicole said.

Unfortunately for Tyson, it was the worst-case scenario.

Just minutes earlier, he’d been playing soccer when he told a teacher his eyes were stinging. He went to sick bay, where he suddenly collapsed, entering an altered conscious state with a dropping heart rate.

AV Warrnambool Mobile Intensive Care ƬƵ (MICA) paramedic John Holland was one of the first paramedics at the scene and quickly realised Tyson’s symptoms could be pointing to something very serious.

“I remember walking in thinking how rare it was to see a child with those symptoms,” he said.

“We went through all the possibilities, but quickly realised that Tyson was having a stroke.

“The scene was very emotive as some of us are parents with children of a similar age. We knew we needed to do everything we could to give Tyson the best chance.

“Our crews stabilised Tyson’s heart rate, maintained his airways and communicated with the other healthcare providers involved to ensure everything was lined up to get him to hospital quickly.”

Paramedics transported Tyson to Warrnambool Base Hospital where he underwent a CT scan which revealed a bleed on the brain caused by abnormal blood vessels he had unknowingly had since birth.

“Straight away, I was just inconsolable,” Nicole said.

Symptoms of a haemorrhagic stroke (bleeding on the brain) can include a sudden severe headache without a clear cause, drowsiness, loss of consciousness/collapsing, seizures, and/or sudden onset of dizziness or loss of balance, as well as the F.A.S.T. signs of stroke:

  • F is for Face – Has their face or mouth drooped?
  • A is for Arms – Can they lift both arms?
  • S is for Speech – Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you?
  • T is for Time – Time is critical. Call Triple Zero (000) immediately.

Quick action is critical to give a stroke patient the best chance of survival and a positive outcome, so Tyson was transported by air ambulance to The Royal Children’s Hospital for emergency brain surgery.

He spent five days in an induced coma and a total of more than a month in hospital, but he survived and began re-learning to eat, see and walk. Soon, he began to surprise everyone with his recovery and on 11 December, he returned home.

“Everyone was shocked at how well he's pulled through and how fast he was improving with his strength,” Nicole said.

“Our little trooper has trooped on and surprises us every day.”

Tyson is back doing most of what he could beforehand, with his main ongoing symptoms being a loss of vision in part of one eye and fatigue. In 2026, he will go back to school.

John said it was incredible to see the recovery Tyson is making.

“To know that he was able to spend Christmas with his family and that he’s headed back to school is phenomenal,” he said.

“It’s incredibly rewarding knowing that I was able to play a part in achieving this outcome, alongside the hospital staff, Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedics and the air ambulance crew.

“This case just goes to show that while it’s incredibly rare for a child to experience a stroke, it’s not impossible. This is why everyone should know the F.A.S.T signs of stroke.”

Nicole said she and Tyson’s family couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who played a role in making sure her son was here to welcome in another year.

“From the paramedics, to the air ambulance, to the doctors and nurses, everyone was amazing and gave us so much help,” Nicole said.

“When I told Tyson he was going to get to see the paramedics again, he said, ‘oh yeah, because they saved my life, didn't they?’

“They did a lot of special things for him and got him to the hospital where he needed to be. Everyone involved was just the biggest help. It’s gotten us all through it.”

Updated