Funding in the provincial budget for a 10-bed stroke unit in Charlottetown has thrilled the people who have been lobbying the government for it.

'It gets the brain working.'— Trevor LeClerc, advocate and stroke victim

Currently, Islanders have to travel off-Island for specialized stroke care.

Trevor LeClerc had a stroke when he was in his late thirties, and recuperated in a stroke unit in Ontario. When he moved to P.E.I., he began lobbying to give Islanders the same opportunity for recovery he had.

"I'm ecstatic with it," LeClerc told CBC News after the budget speech Thursday night. "From the first day I ever set foot on the Island, we've been advocating for this acute stroke-care centre. If it weren't for something like this I wouldn't be living independently."

LeClerc said specialized care can make a huge difference for stroke victims.

"It gets the brain working at reconnecting to lost muscles immediately. In my case, I was fully paralyzed on the left-hand side. Now I can wave my left hand," he said.

The stroke unit will be housed within an existing wing of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Early estimates of the cost of a stroke unit, which included a new unit, were more than $5 million. As recently as February, advocates were saying the unit would cost $3 million to run.

In a media briefing just before his budget speech, provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan said the unit would cost about $1.4 million a year.

The province has scheduled a news conference for Friday morning to provide more details on the stroke unit.