Pauline Grogan's story

In 1986, Pauline Grogan's daughter experienced a stroke at only 10 years old. Pauline felt lost – until she reached out to Stroke Aotearoa (formerly known as the Stroke Foundation) for help.

"I was 40, I had four little children. I rang the Stroke Foundation and said, 'Find me another mother!’”

At the time, they were not aware of anyone else in New Zealand who could relate to Pauline – so the Stroke Foundation expanded the search to Australia. They found Libby, a woman whose daughter had a stroke at only 12 years old. They introduced Libby and Pauline to each other, and the mothers remain friends to this day.

Meeting Libby was a turning point for Pauline, who started getting involved in advocacy, supporting children affected by stroke and other disabilities. She went back to study, writing her dissertation on stroke and its impact on young people and their families. She then did another degree, with her second thesis focusing on telling the stories of six young women who had experienced stroke. She stayed closely involved with Stroke Aotearoa, speaking at conferences and helping to create resources for young people.

Pauline’s mother had polio as a child. Learning to play and then teach piano became her pathway to healing and an independent life. Growing up, Pauline was immersed in music. In 2013, when visiting a close friend who had experienced a stroke several years earlier, Pauline sang to her and discovered the power of music to trigger memory, aid in recovery and foster joy.

Since then, Pauline has been on a mission to get personalised music into every care centre in New Zealand.

"We neglect our older people and their music. I know for a fact that music is what ignites our soul, our desire to keep going, our courage.“

Her life remained incredibly busy – until she experienced two strokes in 2020 as a result of medical treatment.

"I was ‘stroked’ by life. My active days promoting personal playlists in rest home care, on-call relief teaching, taking weddings, taking funerals, writing, speaking at conferences were halted by two brain bleeds."

After a lifetime of advocating for stroke survivors, Pauline has now become one, – which has made her even more focused on her mission.

"I have chronic neuropathic pain. This is the way it is for the rest of my life, as it is for hundreds of thousands of people who have strokes. The only way I have survived is with my music."

Pauline’s first book, 'Beyond the Veil' described her experiences as a Catholic nun. It was a bestseller and gave her the confidence to share her stroke story in a new book, "miss adventure: healing with music" by using voice recognition software. She describes the book as about music and the importance of music for people in rest home care.

Pauline wants every whānau in New Zealand to find out the songs and music that their older members like, so that families can be prepared to support their relatives to have personal playlists if they require rest home care.

Pauline’s own playlist contains the music of her life: the songs she loved as a child, the praise songs she sang when she was a nun, the songs her children listened to when they were growing up.