The event that changed Antonio Iannella’s life forever has become the subject of his first book.
The 47-year-old was paralysed from the neck down, unable to speak or eat, after he suffered a stroke on a family holiday in 2012.
While he often shares his story through his role as a Stroke Foundation ambassador,
Mr Iannella is taking stroke awareness to a higher level with his book,
Saigon Siren, which he hopes to release later this year.
“The book is my memoir about my stroke experience,” he said. “I had my stroke in Vietnam, while on holiday travelling with my young family. I was in a bit of a mess.
“Everything changed. I couldn’t function and I needed care for quite a while.
“I’ve always wanted to write and so I did. I had two different writing periods, one about four years ago, but life took over and the book sat on my hard drive doing nothing until the time presented itself more recently.
“I got back into making music … things happened, I met different people and the story wrote itself – I just had to find the words to put it together.”
He described his recovery as not just a physical journey but also as one that forced him to “dig deeper” on a spiritual level.
“Going from being paralysed to living a life with purpose has given me a different spiritual perspective,” Mr Iannella said. “I wrote about the positive experiences I’ve had and used a lot of things that people have said along my journey and use them to tell my story.”
He urges residents to be stroke aware by organising or attending a potentially life-saving StrokeSafe talk.
“Learn the signs of stroke and understand how important it is to get to hospital quickly.”
Details: strokefoundation.org.au
