August 6 will be a date forever seared in the memory of Bendigo's Jackson family.
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On that date in 2010, family patriarch Cyril passed away, half a decade after suffering a stroke which saw him tube-fed for weeks and restricted to a wheelchair.
This year, on the fourth anniversary of his death, his widow Dorothy suffered three strokes in four hours.
Mrs Jackson, 85, was at home in her kitchen, peeling a recipe from a can of condensed milk when daughter Robyn Dalton realised something was amiss.
"She just turned around to talk to me and was just talking very slowly and slurring her words," Ms Dalton said.
"She was telling me she was okay, but she could see by the look on my face something was wrong.
"I called out to my sister to call an ambulance, it was so lucky we were there."
When the ambulance arrived, Mrs Jackson was alert, responsive, and seemingly recovered, but within an hour she was experiencing a second episode.
Brain scans showed no evidence of bleeding, yet within another three hours a third, and more serious, stroke hit.
"She just slumped forward and when I looked at her, her face had fallen and she wasn't responding to me," Ms Dalton said.
"It was obvious then she'd had the big stroke; she couldn't talk, she had no movement in her left leg, her left arm was completely paralysed."
The next few hours were crucial.
Brain scans completed, Mrs Jackson went straight into a video link consultation with a Melbourne neurologist and vital clot-busting medication was administered.
By lunchtime the following day she was on the mend.
Four weeks later, the octogenarian spoke to the Bendigo Advertiser to promote National Stroke Week and the Central Victorian Stroke Support Group.
The Stroke Society of Australasia estimates there are more than 400,000 stroke survivors living in Australia and that one in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime.
Signs of stroke include facial drooping, slurred speech and an inability to lift both arms.
"It's a terrifying sort of thing because you really can't do anything to help yourself," Mrs Jackson said.
"But if people know what to look out for and you get to them very quickly, they have a better chance of survival."
Mrs Jackson said survival went beyond immediate medical treatment.
When her husband suffered a stroke nearly a decade ago, she wasn't prepared for the emotional trauma.
Mr Jackson experienced a period of depression and emotional instability as a result of the the damage to his brain.
It was then Mrs Jackson became involved with the Central Victorian Stroke Support Group.
"They're very caring people. You tend to isolate yourself a bit (after a stroke) but the group gave us more confidence," she said.
To promote National Stroke Week - which runs from September 8-14 - free blood pressure checks will be provided at an awareness stall at Bendigo Health.