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Exclusive: The husband of an Australian actress who suffered a stroke after having a COVID-19 vaccination said she remains fiercely supportive of the jab and is making great progress in her recovery after facing a fight for her life.
Melle Stewart, 40, is learning to walk and talk again following a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
She had to have part of her brain removed and spent weeks in intensive care on a ventilator in hospital – but is now in rehabilitation and improving well, her husband said.
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Actor Ben Lewis said that while his wife almost died from the more-than-one-in-a-million rare complication, she wants everyone to get vaccinated if they haven't already.
"Obviously if you're gonna win a lottery you'd prefer it was the other one," he told 9news.com.au from London, where the couple live.
"She really wants people to know that she still supports vaccination.
"We've both talked about the fact that if we had our time again, and we didn't know what was going to happen, we would have done the same thing."
'My first hope was that she came back to me – for a few weeks I didn't know that was going to happen'
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Stewart went to acclaimed theatre school, the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, where the pair met, and has appeared in multiple stage shows in the UK and Australia, including playing the lead in Mamma Mia!
The couple have lived in London for ten years where they've both starred in many shows, with Lewis best known for playing the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera.
But because of the impact of the pandemic on theatre, Stewart was working as a drama teacher and he was working in a bar when she became ill in June.
Lewis recalled what happened when his wife of 12 years realised something was wrong, two weeks after getting the jab and proudly taking a photo at the vaccination centre.
"We went to bed at ten o'clock that night and Mel woke up at midnight feeling funny," he told 9News.com.au.
He said he thought maybe she'd just laid funny, giving herself a 'dead' right arm.
When Stewart got up she couldn't put any weight on her right leg.
They rushed to their local hospital in an Uber.
While initial tests were clear, Stewart quickly deteriorated and lost her ability to speak and move her right side.
The pair were rushed by ambulance to the bigger St George's Hospital.
Doctors there confirmed she had Vaccine-Induced Thrombocytopenic Thrombosis (VITT) – blood clotting – which had caused a stroke.
Surgeons operated to save her life by removing part of her skull.
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"If they didn't do that, the pressure would have basically killed her," Lewis, said.
Stewart was put into an induced coma after the surgery for almost four weeks.
Due to the travel ban, her family including six siblings and her parents, were not able to travel from Australia to support her.
Lewis, who was only allowed to see her every three days due to COVID-19 rules, recalls when she finally woke up.
"I remember very clearly the day when I looked her in the eyes and I could see that she was back," he said. "That was an amazing feeling."
Stewart has continued to improve and is now in a rehab hospital in London's south west.
And while it's too soon to say if she'll make a full recovery, her husband is hopeful.
"She's attacking her therapies with 150 per cent commitment. The NHS staff are just absolutely incredible," Lewis, said.
"The signs are good for her walking. Her muscles are coming back in her right leg which is amazing.
"The end game is always difficult. With brain injuries, recovery is so dependant on an individual.
"What we're grateful for is Mel understands absolutely everything.
"She can't speak in sentences. She knows exactly what she wants to say, she just can't get the messages out yet.
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"We know that Mel was extremely healthy, she's only 40.
"We're hopeful all of these things will mean she's able to make tremendous progress."
He said one day he fully expects her to be able to return to participating in the arts she loves, in some way.
"My first hope was that she came back to me – for a few weeks I didn't know that was going to happen," he said.
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"But knowing my wife I just would never put a cap on anything."
Lewis said the couple feels "blessed" by the support the theatre community around the world have shown.
Celebs, including Today Extra host David Campbell, have posted on social media about a fundraising page the family has set up.
Australian medical body the TGA said eight people have died from the blood clotting condition in Australia, from more than 12m doses.
"In Australia, the risk of dying from TTS after vaccination is approximately one in a million," the TGA said.
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"Like all medicines, COVID-19 vaccines may have some side effects.
"The overwhelming majority of these are mild and resolve within a few days.
"To date, there have been 156 cases of TTS assessed as related to Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) from approximately 12.6 million vaccine doses."
Symptoms include severe or persistent headache, blurred vision, confusion or seizures, shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling or persistent abdominal pain, unusual skin bruising or pinpoint round spots beyond the site of vaccination.
Contact journalist Sarah Swain: sswain@nine.com.au
