Community stories

If you want to know the sort of neurologist Dr Paweł Wrona is, just ask his patients. But if you want to understand how he became that way, you will find the answer in the theatre.

Dr Rositsa Krasteva is driving stroke care transformation in Russe and influencing the stroke agenda throughout Bulgaria. A nominee for the 2024 ESO Spirit of Excellence Award, her focus remains laser-sharp on the patient.

Stroke care transformation in North Macedonia is hindered by political instability and fuelled by frustration. But neurologist and change advocate Dr Maja Bozinovska holds fast to the dream of equal access to stroke care for all in a person-centred healthcare setting.

For stroke neurologist Prof. Zdravka Poljaković, public advocacy around stroke is not her duty but her reward. “If you have done something in your life, you have earned people’s respect and you can do something with it.”

Teachers are the real heroes of FAST Heroes implementation in Ukraine. It’s their courage and dedication that has sent the country to the top of the leaderboard in more ways than one.

The stroke team at this island hospital chose their first patient with care. It was important for their first thrombolysis to succeed, or all their efforts would come to nought. In July 2019 that patient arrived and within hours everyone knew that Bohol island had a stroke-ready hospital.