Aussie actor battling for AstraZeneca compensation after ‘one-in-a-million’ jab-related stroke – 9News

Actor Melle Stewart says she is "grieving" her previous life after being struck by a near 'one-in-a-million' vaccination side effect which has left her with a brain injury.

The 43-year-old suffered a stroke after suffering blood clotting following an AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab.

Stewart, who is preparing to sue the vaccine maker in the UK, needed life saving surgery to remove part of her skull, spent weeks in a coma and had to learn to walk and talk again.

While Stewart remains pro-vaccination and continues to plan to have booster jabs, she wants compensation for her horror ordeal.

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Her successful acting career, which saw her star in hit shows including Mamma Mia, is shattered.

She has ongoing speech and mobility problems and is unable to work, let alone return to the stage.

"I'm grieving for the theatre and won't dance again," she told 9news.com.au.

"I'm not acting anymore and I'm grieving all of that and I have to accept that."

Stewart admits she sometimes ponders the question, "why me?" amid the extremely rare chance of the side effect.

But she tries to stay positive with the help of actor husband Ben Lewis, 44.

"I'm an optimist. Going forward is the only way," she said.

Lewis admits they struggle to come to terms with what has happened.

"The way we try to rationalise is good, beautiful people get stick every single day with all kinds of horrible diseases though no fault of their own," Lewis said.

"While this is not that it helps to rationalise it a bit."

As reported by 9News.com.au, the couple had been living in London for ten years where they'd both starred in many shows, with Lewis best known for playing the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera.

Stewart had just appeared in musical Kiss Me Kate in Belfast.

Because of the impact of lockdowns on theatre, she was working as a drama teacher when she had the stroke in June 2021.

Amid the UK vaccine rollout, Stewart had the AstraZeneca vaccine.

At age 40 she was six months into the nation's threshold age for that jab.

A month earlier the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in the UK advised adults under 40 be offered an alternative "following reports of extremely rare blood clots in a very small number of people".

She proudly took a photo afterwards showing a sticker which said she'd been vaccinated.

But two weeks later Stewart said she woke up and felt "peculiar."

She had what felt like a 'dead' arm and wasn't able to put any weight on her right leg.

The couple rushed to hospital where Stewart deteriorated and lost her ability to speak and move her right side.

Doctors later confirmed she had the rare but serious Vaccine-Induced Thrombocytopenic Thrombosis (VITT) - blood clotting - which had caused a stroke.

Surgeons operated to save her life by removing part of her skull, which was later replaced with a metal plate.

Stewart survived but was in an induced coma for weeks.

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She recalls learning what had happened once she woke up.

"I was in shock," she said.

"I was fit, heathy, I had low blood pressure, I was not a smoker, I occasionally drank alcohol."

Stewart spent nearly nine months in hospital.

Celebs backed a fundraiser for her which gathered $250,000.

The couple has now returned to Brisbane to be closer to family, including Mel's parents and her six siblings.

Stewart is dedicated to her rehabilitation, with husband Lewis remaining by her side through it all.

She has brain injury-related speech disorders called aphasia and apraxia.

It's something she finds "frustrating beyond belief".

"My intelligence is fine, my memory is fine, but getting the words out is a struggle," she said.

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It's a big change for an actress who used to be so good at reading she professionally recorded audiobooks.

"The amount of time it used to take Mel to read a chapter takes Mel to read a page," Lewis said.

Remarkably while she might find speaking tough, singing is easier because that part of her brain wasn't damaged by the stroke.

Stewart also needs to wear a special boot on her right foot to help her walk.

She has also had to learn to write with her left hand.

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Stewart said one of her goals is to volunteer to help young stroke victims like her.

She hopes to return to working in some way and also wants to be able to drive again - although isn't sure if her brain injury will allow it.

The couple hopes she can get involved in theatre again too, though admit that currently, even a trip to see a show at Brisbane's QPAC is difficult for her to deal with because of what she's lost.

"It's been Mel's life since she was tiny and it'll play a part moving forward, we're just not sure what it will be," Lewis said.

The couple has also become involved with the Australian Aphasia Association, with Stewart giving a speech at a recent fundraiser which took months of preparation.

Stewart is part of a class action against the vaccine maker AstraZeneca in the UK.

The couple say they remain pro-vaccination - even booking booster jabs next week.

But with her future health uncertain, they are battling for compensation from the drugs company.

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"No money will compensate for what Mel has lost," Lewis said.

"Someone just has to be held accountable."

He has also been unable to work since his wife's stroke.

The UK government has paid them $220,000 as part of a compensation scheme.

AstraZeneca was initially used in Australia for older people, with the medical guidelines on the age range changing throughout the pandemic.

The blood clotting risk was found to be higher in younger people.

The TGA said from just under 14 million vaccine doses of Vaxzevria, as the jab was renamed, administered in Australia, there were 173 TTS cases.

"The risk of dying from TTS after vaccination (first dose) was about one in a million," a spokesman told 9news.com.au.

"TTS occurred in about two out of every 100,000 people after a first dose and about 0.3 out of every 100,000 people after a second dose."

Of the 173 cases of confirmed or probable TTS, eight people died in Australia.

AstraZeneca did not respond for requests to comment.

The couple is part of a group fundraiser for the court case on the Crowd Justice UK website.

You can find the latest information about COVID-19 vaccines and recommendations for Australians here.

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Aussie actor battling for AstraZeneca compensation after 'one-in-a-million' jab-related stroke - 9News