Sir Bob Parker was the public face of the Christchurch earthquake response. Former Christchurch mayor Sir Bob Parker is in a long-term care facility after a life-threatening stroke left him with limited movement and confined to a wheelchair. Parker, a national television figure before becoming an inspiring frontman in the aftermath of the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 in Canterbury, said he suffered a heart attack in May last year, when he was feeling as “fit as he had ever been”. The 68-year-old was treated and received medication, including blood thinning drugs. After recovering, he had a stroke on October 5, just days after attending an event in Akaroa to mark the restoration of its historic lighthouse.