Artist and stroke survivor Lizzy Stageman raises awareness for NAIDOC week

In February 2017, she was at work having her morning tea and reading the paper when all of a sudden she felt excruciating pain.

"It was like a knife stabbed into my skull and pulled back out again. It was like nothing I've never felt before and then my right arm started to go numb and my tongue felt like it was swelling in my mouth," she said.

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After suffering the mini stroke, Ms Stageman said she would never be the same person again. She said she was in constant fear of having another stroke and not being able to be there for her children.

"It really just changed me in a way... I was living in a lot of fear," she said.

At 17, she was accepted to art school but did not attend owing to family reasons. Her children always knew of her passion for art, and to help her cope they gifted her art supplies for Christmas 2017.

It was then, 35 years later, on New Years Day 2018, that Ms Stageman picked up the brush and began a new painting.

"It was a new year, a new beginning, and my painting made me forget all that fear," she said. "It gave me something to look forward to... and I channelled my worry into creating art, because it takes me to another place."

"My art healed me."

Now living in Newcastle, Ms Stageman is a proud descendant of the Wiradjuri, Ngiyampaa and Barkindji Nations. Her rich history, culture and connection to the land and her people is reflected in her work.

The turning point was when Ms Stageman created her first Indigenous painting. It was about finding out more about her culture and where she belonged. She named the painting 'Finding my place'.

"I finally found where I fitted," she said.

"I had to go through the journey, through the pain and discomfort of life, to get to where I needed to be and finally find my place in this world."

After experiencing a stroke, Ms Stageman realised not enough people knew about the condition or were aware of the signs. For NAIDOC Week, she shares her story to help others in the community.

"If I can get through it, then others can get though it, we're stronger than we think," she said.

"If I can help just one person with my story then that's one less person having to go through what I went through."

"The worry is people don't know want to look for. I would encourage people to know the signs so you can get medical treatment immediately and listen to your body and don't ignore the signs."

The artist has also had a brush with breast cancer in 2018, but she is now four years cancer-free and looks forward to the fifth. Her message for NAIDOC week is: "Stand up, be proud of who you are, don't let anything hold you back".

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