Stroke survivor strikes back with sport

“Earlier this year I was busy examining a thesis from a South African university, I suddenly woke to my family surrounding me and looking shocked. I asked them what they were doing around me. At that point my wife said, “You are not well.” In a split second I had been attacked by a stroke, with my mouth and cheeks moving towards my left-hand side. Fortunately, I recovered within minutes. A very important soccer fixture was coming up next on DSTV. The rest of the afternoon was calm. I managed to finalise the assessment of the thesis I had been working on. Soccer results for that day were favourable. However, the comfort did not last long. At approximately 20:00 that night, while we were having dinner at home, I went into a second attack. My wife immediately rushed me to hospital where I spent seven days in the intensive care unit. I was later discharged. By the grace of God, I survived the stroke attack and returned to work after another week following my discharge.”

These are the words of Prof Joseph Chisasa from Unisa’s Department of Finance and Risk Management and Banking. He wants to share his story with the Unisa community to create awareness and encourage each person to never ignore signs of illness, especially when it comes to life-threatening ones like a stroke.

As active sportsperson, the stroke came as a huge surprise for Chisasa and his family. “I was surprised to fall prey to the stroke because I felt fit and happy. I did not see this coming, not one day,” he said.

There were a few challenges he faced whilst recovering and Chisasa certainly did his best to overcome them. He went through many tests, results of which were not conclusive. Only his blood pressure was pronounced extremely high. “It was not encouraging at all. However, I believed that it was a temporary shock and would soon pass. In fact it has passed,” he said with a grateful smile.

Back to sport soon after stroke

Chisasa is also grateful that his recovery was a quick one. “My recovery from the sudden attacks was almost immediate, with each attack lasting not more than five minutes. I received medical attention and was placed under chronic medication. To allow the medication to work to full effect, I remained confident and positive that I could overcome my condition. Coupled with prayer, I felt stronger with each passing day.” He went back to his usual active lifestyle of jogging, covering approximately six km on each outing. A few months after the stroke he was back with the both the Unisa Masters’ Football team on the one hand and the Academics Football Club on the other. With all of this activity, Chisasa managed to get enough game time to consolidate his recovery programme.

Now that he’s fully recovered he is, once again, living a life of happiness and gratitude. “I have had one of the most scariest experiences, but I’m glad that God gave me a chance to restore my hope which was potentially shattered within the blink of an eye. My life is back on track and it is business as usual,” said an undeterred Chisasa.

Chisasa advises that Unisans should never ignore any signs when it comes to their health and encourages everyone to have a health and fitness programme and stick to it. “When one feels some sort of health disorder, no matter how minor, it is advisable to consult a medical practitioner immediately. A stitch in time saves nine. It also important to balance both our work and social lives. After all life is there to be lived, but responsibly so,” he encouraged.

Sport served as a second soul

For Chisasa, sport has served as a second soul. “It has kept me going strong, year in and year out. Until this incident, my health has always been good and I attribute it to my participation in sports. Through sport I have made a lot of friends both in South Africa and elsewhere. I now know a lot of colleagues from other directorates and this has enhanced my working relationship with them. When I was languishing in hospital, I had a lot of my friends, who I play football with, sending messages for me to get well. It was such a welcome psychological boost; in fact, it was magical.”

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