Now he and fellow Dunedin stroke survivor Natalie Cowie are co-hosting a Stroke Foundation radio show raising awareness of the condition they, and more than 11,000 New Zealanders each year, have experienced.
Episode two of Different Strokes will be broadcast on Otago Access Radio at 10.30am today, and the six-episode weekly show is also available as a podcast.
Strokes happen when blood flow to the brain is blocked, or a blood vessel bleeds into the brain.
According to the foundation, they are the country’s second-biggest killer and leading cause of serious adult disability, and will affect one in four people over their lifetime.
Different Strokes was a great way for stroke survivors to hear about people who had similar experiences, yet got back into the rhythm of life, Prof Gillett said.
He had been unprepared for the two strokes that knocked him back for the past three years. In the past he had operated on those who had strokes or were at risk of them.
"It was almost Shakespearean that I was the person who suffered from this."
Medical wisdom at the time was that there was an 18-month window post-stroke in which recovery had to take place, but this had been wrong in his case and many others.
"Don’t give up. However far you’ve got, there is further to go that you don’t know about.
"The more you do, the better you get."
Ms Cowie said the show was about helping people back to where they were before a stroke.
"I also think it’s really good for whanau and friends to understand what’s happened," she said.
As well as speaking with a stroke survivor each week, they also interviewed someone with specialist knowledge, such as stroke and speech therapists, a psychologist and a neuroscientist.
They could shed light on why some therapies worked and others did not, she said.
"They’re magic, because they’re answering questions I’d want to know the answers to myself."
She was enjoying co-hosting the show and hoped it would encourage people to get back into the world.
