AS fans prepare to head to Optus Stadium today to support Melbourne in its Preliminary Final against Geelong, none have made a journey quite as unique as Tommy Quick’s.
Quick is on the trip of a lifetime, committing to cycling 9000km across Australia and reaching the four most extreme points of the country.
A die-hard Demons fan, Quick will tonight be cheering on at Optus Stadium, having cycled all the way from South Australia as part of his long journey.
But if that isn’t impressive enough, his reasoning makes it even more special.
Quick is raising money and awareness for The Stroke Foundation – a charity he holds close to is heart, having experienced a stroke himself back in 2006.
“It's a day I'll never forget and it's the day my life changed forever,” Quick told Melbourne Media.
He was just 12 years of age at the time, waking to a dull headache, when things quickly took a turn. Losing consciousness, he went into an induced coma for five weeks, and had to remain in hospital for a further five months.
Quick was forced to learn how to talk and walk again, in what he soon came to realise was a long road to recovery.
During those months in hospital, he developed a new love of the Dees, after a kind gesture from a particular player gave him a change of heart.
“I grew up barracking for Port Adelaide, because where we lived, in a remote community, you could only choose between Port Adelaide or Sydney Swans,” Quick said.
“But when I had my stroke, somehow my teacher organised Daniel Wells and Aaron Davey to come and visit me in the hospital.
“Then when I got out of hospital, we went to a Melbourne game, and I got to go to the rooms and see Aaron again.
“Ever since then, I’ve barracked for Melbourne.”
The now 28-year-old’s love of the club has grown even more this year, explaining that his favourite thing to watch and experience as a fan has been the team’s attitude to the game.
“I think with footy, there are many different aspects to the game; there’s the whole psychology behind the way we play,” Quick said.
“If you think about the Round 23 game against Geelong, we dropped the ball and we probably thought the game was over.
“But because there was a hunger to win and we had belief that we could actually do it, we won.
It’s a sentiment that Quick brings into his own life, spreading the same message of hope to those he meets along his journey across Australia.
Setting off last month, he will spend the next 12 months riding the thousands of kilometres, with the goal to visit up to 100 schools and speak to 10,000 children.
Through this, he hopes to bring the Stroke Foundation to the forefront and encourage social inclusion.
“I want to raise awareness on my life, what happened to me and give people the sense that you can do anything if you set your mind to it,” Quick said.
“I also want to raise awareness for young people who have suffered strokes and focus on social inclusion of those with disabilities.
“That’s one of the main aspects of this journey, to promote social inclusion.
“And I’d love people to come ride with me, any distance of the journey whether it’s big or small.”
You can join and follow along Tommy’s journey here and support his fundraising efforts by donating to The Stroke Foundation.
The Stroke Foundation is a national charity that works with communities to prevent, beat and treat stroke through awareness, education, research and support.
Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in Australia. The Stroke Foundation recommends the F.A.S.T test to recognise the most common signs, checking if their face has dropped, if they can lift both of their arms and if their speech has slurred. If so, it’s time to act and call 000.
