![Brian Lawrence, pictured with Amber Lawrence, passed away in 2009. Picture supplied Brian Lawrence, pictured with Amber Lawrence, passed away in 2009. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/164349425/22392894-b517-4cf5-a275-0c59e3aa4045.jpg/r0_0_960_618_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
LIFE changed for country artist Amber Lawrence after her father suffered a debilitating stroke when she was just a child.
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"In his instance, [the stroke] damaged his brain - there was no coming back from that," she told the Leader.
"What happened to dad was unfair and life changing and had a huge impact on our family."
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The musician has signed up to complete 1,000 minutes of exercise in November as part of Stride4Stroke, in honour of her late father.
The event encourages people to become aware that exercise is the key to preventing stroke.
"It's important to me to know what my dad went through," she said.
"I wouldn't want any of us to go through it.
"The smallest steps you can take to make sure it doesn't happen is important."
Amber is touring Australia with her ARIA nominated album Living For The Highlights, but said she'll make the time to fit her minutes of exercise in, regardless of where she is.
"I've worked out that it's about 35 minutes a day and some days that will include walking around the airport while waiting for a plane," she said.
"It's not a huge commitment, but it's a commitment.
"If I can do it, anyone can."
Her father Brian, who sadly passed in 2009, was paralysed on the right side of his body, and lost his speech after suffering a stroke in 1987.
Amber was just seven years old.
"Life changed for us and it was really difficult, and that was for the rest of his life," she said.
"It's not just something you can get better from.
"It was really hard."
It wasn't until she got closer in age to her father that she started to become conscious of her own health.
"We should probably think about these things sooner in life, but we certainly don't," she said.
The artist encourages all Aussies to get involved with the exercise-focused event.
"It's a super easy challenge," she said.
"It's about setting a goal that's achievable, even if you just start with five minutes a day.
"I look forward to coming out of November fitter, healthier and more aware of my health."
Stroke is one of Australia's biggest killers and a leading cause of disability, but more than 80 per cent of strokes are preventable, according to the Stroke Foundation.
In any given week, 12 per cent of Australians will not be exercising - that's 3.1 million inactive people.
Participants in Stride4Stroke choose their own activity goal to complete within the month of November - walking, swimming, push ups, online yoga classes and more.
The aim is to increase their daily 'moving minutes' to reduce the risk of stroke.
The annual physical activity fundraising campaign gets underway on Tuesday November 1, and hundreds of people across Australia are gearing up to get active for a good cause.
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