Life changing moment sparks idea for a very special radio station
It was a day like any other except for the weather. March 26th 2012 with extended sunshine and a high in Dublin of 22 degrees Celsius (a spring heat wave in Ireland). Nothing else appeared out of the ordinary on that Monday morning.
46 year old entrepreneur Mark O'Toole had begun work for the day at his new venture in mobile telecommunications. Just after 9am Mark noticed that his speech was a little unusual, suddenly he had a slight lisp. His work continued on the 4 mobile phones assembled on the desk in front of him. Then his typing ability of his right started to err, problem noted but the businessman shifted to typing with his left hand eager to continue the business of the day. Minutes later Mark caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror. His face was drooping on one side. Something wasn't right.
Location: Charity Radio Dublin 12
Thankfully mark remembered a recent television advertisement campaign F.A.S.T. from the Irish Heart Foundation. Seeing himself in the mirror and piecing together the lisp and the typing problems Mark at this stage knew he was having a stoke. He had all the signs F for Face A for Arm and S for Speech, but more than this Mark had T for Time. Time was on his side. Having quickly worked out what was happening, without delay or panic he hastily made his way to his local accident & emergency department at Tallaght Hospital.
Remembering that advert from TV and acting on it made all the difference, Mark recalls "I resolved that I was having a stroke. T is for Time. I had read that you lose 2 million brain cells for every minute this is going on and that's what motivated me to get to Tallaght Hospital immediately, no hanging around. my speech got progressively worse but as soon as I could articulate 'I am having a stroke' (or something close to that) the receptionist immediately took action."
Mark's self diagnosis was confirmed by the doctors at the hospital, he was having a stroke. His early intervention meant his chances of recovery were greatly increased. Initial treatment with anti clotting drugs brought the symptoms under control and a restoration in his overall well-being.
Recovery seemed immediate and simple. "[admitted to hospital on the Monday] by Wednesday I was playing guitar in the hospital café, that showed that my hands were working, I had coordination and I was really going through a euphoric stage at that time because I thought I'd kicked its arse, stroke? ha! I'm superman, I've gotten over it" said Mark, but in life and in post stroke situations things aren't always as simple as they may seem.
"Not having been to a doctor for 20 years before the stroke, in those few days in hospital they diagnosed me with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, possible cancer in my neck and a faulty valve in my heart." These diagnoses would explain symptoms Mark was having prior to his stroke, bad memory, low mood and getting tired very easily.
Remembering that advert from TV and acting on it made all the difference, Mark recalls "I resolved that I was having a stroke. T is for Time. I had read that you lose 2 million brain cells for every minute this is going on and that's what motivated me to get to Tallaght Hospital immediately, no hanging around. my speech got progressively worse but as soon as I could articulate 'I am having a stroke' (or something close to that) the receptionist immediately took action."
Mark's self diagnosis was confirmed by the doctors at the hospital, he was having a stroke. His early intervention meant his chances of recovery were greatly increased. Initial treatment with anti clotting drugs brought the symptoms under control and a restoration in his overall well-being.
Recovery seemed immediate and simple. "[admitted to hospital on the Monday] by Wednesday I was playing guitar in the hospital café, that showed that my hands were working, I had coordination and I was really going through a euphoric stage at that time because I thought I'd kicked its arse, stroke? ha! I'm superman, I've gotten over it" said Mark, but in life and in post stroke situations things aren't always as simple as they may seem.
"Not having been to a doctor for 20 years before the stroke, in those few days in hospital they diagnosed me with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, possible cancer in my neck and a faulty valve in my heart." These diagnoses would explain symptoms Mark was having prior to his stroke, bad memory, low mood and getting tired very easily.
Full length interview with Mark O'Toole
Post stroke Mark was now also having to deal with short term memory loss and with that loss came a lack of confidence, the MBA student and the ever busy businessman had lost focus on his goals and was slipping into depression. Mark explains "I lost words, suddenly mid sentence ______ missing words, a word would just disappear out of my head, and I couldn't associate around it, and it's absolutely a killer to confidence.... It put me into severe depression which I wasn't even aware I had. I didn't function, I didn't get out of the bed, I just didn't get into the day, and that went on for several weeks."
Keeping busy was what Mark knew how to do well. He knew he had to do something to restore himself. He decided to approach the charity that ran that F.A.S.T. television advert campaign. Mark wanted to return the gratitude he had and help the organisation whose advocacy helped him to respond so well when he had his stroke. Mark recalls being told by the Irish Heart Foundation "If somebody hadn't died and left a legacy will - then the advertisements would not have been on television."
Having previously been founder & chairperson of Tallaght Community Radio back in the 1990s Mark knew about the power of radio in audience reach and advocacy. For Mark this was a light bulb moment. Radio could help the Irish Heart Foundation. Advertising is very effective but it's also very expensive, what if there were a platform where charities could advertise for free? From humble beginnings on a laptop in a bedroom Charity Radio was born in Walkinstown.
Sounding Great Doing Good 'In studio'
Charity Radio broadcasts 24/7 online from www.charityradio.ie
Charity Radio is a 25+ volunteer led professional radio service broadcasting online from Walkinstown to the world. The format is focused on healthy living and classic hits. As Mark puts it "we have lots of great content about healthy living but no preaching, we put out the messages, and over time we convey the message."
The station slogan is "sounding great - doing good" Charity Radio plans to hit the airwaves of Dublin in 2016 with a 30 day trial licence. For Mark increased availability of their service means increased advocacy opportunities for their 20+ charity partners.
March 26th 2012 might not have been the greatest day in the life of Mark O'Toole who will celebrate his 50th birthday in 2016. To quote Kat Flint "The best things grow from the worst disasters". Has Charity Radio been Mark O'Toole's saviour? Mark says "absolutely, I hate to think what could have happened to me if I hadn't got the radio station to get me back into doing things, so from a selfish perspective, yes absolutely it has been a saviour to me".
Charity Radio is a 25+ volunteer led professional radio service broadcasting online from Walkinstown to the world. The format is focused on healthy living and classic hits. As Mark puts it "we have lots of great content about healthy living but no preaching, we put out the messages, and over time we convey the message."
The station slogan is "sounding great - doing good" Charity Radio plans to hit the airwaves of Dublin in 2016 with a 30 day trial licence. For Mark increased availability of their service means increased advocacy opportunities for their 20+ charity partners.
March 26th 2012 might not have been the greatest day in the life of Mark O'Toole who will celebrate his 50th birthday in 2016. To quote Kat Flint "The best things grow from the worst disasters". Has Charity Radio been Mark O'Toole's saviour? Mark says "absolutely, I hate to think what could have happened to me if I hadn't got the radio station to get me back into doing things, so from a selfish perspective, yes absolutely it has been a saviour to me".
Helpful websites
For more details about F.A.S.T. see www.irishheart.ie and www.stroke.ie
image via www.irishheart.ie
