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My daughter suffered an acute ischemic stroke on 8/23/2014 while moving into her college dorm at the age of 17. Luckily I was there and knew what was happening. She fell on the floor and was paralyzed on her left side, unable to speak clearly. I had the roommate sit with her while I ran to the security desk for them to call 911. Ambulance arrives, starts taking information and her symptoms go away, they suggest maybe we don't want to go to the hospital now?
I said oh we are going to the hospital, why would they even offer that? Had I not been there what would my 17yr old have said?
Rushed to Lankenau because once they had her on the stretcher she was paralyzed again on left side. Once at Lankenau Hosp the neurologist in the ER says to me "well either she is having a stroke or she is faking"! So you know I let him have an ear full! Then she comes back from MRI and they confirm, deep clot in right side of the back of her brain.
They explain to me what the up and down side of administering tPA. I give permission to administer and hold my breath that its not a bleed. By now my husband has arrived at the hospital and we just can't figure how this has happened. She is moved to ICU and the next afternoon she is transferred to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. She is only 17 and they are better equipped to treat her.
After one week there and many tests to find out why, we still are not 100% sure. They feel that her Lipid A was elevated and with hormone from her birth control, that is what caused the stroke. She was transferred to inpatient rehab for two weeks and then discharged to outpatient rehab, which she followed for 10 months. She was able to start college the Spring of 2015 while going to rehab locally.
While inpatient we discussed getting a tattoo which she had asked me for many times before and I always said no, Her stroke made me realize I had to put things in my life in perspective. I said yes, but make the tattoo meaningful to you and not some guys name or some silly picture you will regret. She had the date of her stroke tattooed on the back of her left shoulder! She said in her instagram picture of the tattoo, "People tell you not to get a tattoo because they are permanent, but this day will always remind me that life itself is temporary"! How can I argue with that!
My daughter will be starting her junior year in college in the fall and she had a full scholarship that day 8/23/2014 to play basketball on the Woman's Division I team there at Saint Joseph University in Philadelphia, PA! They have honored her scholarship and she has worked endlessly to get back to where she was that day. The season starts November 2016 and we are hoping and praying she is on that court in her uniform for which she worked so hard for!
Reading all of your stories, I think we each gain something from each other and puts life in perspective with what each of us has lost, gained and shows the true strength that lies within each of us. Best of luck to all of you in your lives and recovery! Like Prince's song, We are trying to get through this thing called Life!
American Heart Association
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