Speech pathology week - recovery and romance

In celebration of Speech Pathology Week, two of our patients shared the profound impact our Speech Pathology Department had on their lives following a stroke, both in recovery and romantically.

Anne-Marie Ellery and Steven Roberts both experienced a stroke six-months apart in 2022, which affected the language centres of their brains, resulting in a condition known as aphasia.

One in three people experience aphasia after a stroke; it can affect a person's ability to communicate, including speech, understanding, reading and writing; it does not affect intelligence.

After receiving their initial care at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Annie Marie and Steven were transferred to the Stroke Rehabilitation ward at Osborne Park Hospital (OPH) to undertake rehabilitation which included rebuilding their communication skills with our speech pathologists.

Once discharged from OPH, the pair returned for regular outpatient appointments.

It was at OPH that Steven and Anne-Marie first met, striking up a friendship over their shared recovery journeys.

Steven said OPH speech pathologists had a major impact on his life.

“I owe so much to the team, I will never forget how much they helped me,” he said.

“When the stroke happened, I couldn’t get one word out; with a lot of patience and a lot of help - one word at a time - I have been able to improve so much and gain confidence.

“If I lose confidence now, I look back to two years ago and remember how far I have come.”

Anne-Marie shared Steven’s sentiment, crediting the speech pathologists for helping her re-gain her independence.

“When I was in hospital, I saw my speech pathologist daily, I had to go through all the words, tomato, broccoli, everything,” she said.

“I thought I would be better after three months but no, that’s not the case, it’s different for everyone, you just have to keep at it.

“I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, to the speech pathologists.”

Anne-Marie said thanks to the speech pathology team she has now come so far and has been able to regain her independence and, on a side note, find a partner.

As they got to know each other more during their treatment journeys, Steven said that initial friendship grew into a romance, with the pair recently moving in together and have been together for more than 1.5 years.

Steven said it had been good to have someone to share the recovery journey with who know exactly what you are going through.

Steven and Anne-Marie are also both members of iDecide, a volunteer Consumer Advisory Group for people with aphasia formed at OPH in 2021.

The group review written material to ensure it’s accessible for people with aphasia and meet with current patients to share their experiences to support others through their recovery.

Steven and Anne-Marie's story highlight their resilience, connection and the crucial role that speech pathologists play in helping individuals navigate life after a communication impairment.

Speech Pathology Week runs from 24 to 30 August 2025. The 2025 campaign theme is ‘Impact through communication’.

As well as treating stroke patients, our team of dedicated and passionate speech pathologists assess and treat patients that require support to communicate following brain tumours, head and neck cancer, Parkinson's or experiencing voice problems.

Find out more on the iDecide Group.