A family has been left devastated and in tears after their 10-year-old healthy girl suddenly suffered a stroke despite the lack of any warnings or symptoms.
As mum Hayley Clark from Norfolk, England, explained, her daughter Gracie Whittick collapsed on the floor at their home as she was getting ready to leave for school.
After the girl was rushed to the hospital, the doctors have discovered she had a blood clot in her brain. As her heart scan confirmed, however, she had no underlying medical conditions.
As of this writing, Gracie is set to stay in the hospital for several more weeks and undergo surgery to have the blood clot removed.
“She was getting ready for school and the next second she was on the floor. It happened in seconds,” Hayley said, recalling the time she feared she had lost her daughter forever.
“I thought she had fainted on the floor and I had to get her to come around. I got on the phone to the ambulance straight away. The right side of her face was drooping. She couldn’t lift her arms, move her arms or legs.
“It was all completely out of the blue. There were no warning signs at all, she was fine before. We are all in shock, her right arm is very weak and her memory is bad.
“She started walking now, but she can’t walk for long she still has a wheelchair. She did lots of dancing and gymnastics, she was healthy and there were no signs of a stroke. To me a stroke is an old people thing. It isn’t something that happens to a healthy ten-year-old girl.”
Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke that accounts for 85 % of all strokes. It is caused by a blood clot that blocks the blood supply in the artery.
While stroke commonly affects people above 55, no one is entirely safe from it as it may also strike younger individuals.
“The whole thing is really surreal. Doctors still don’t know why it happened, she had a heart scan and that has come back as normal,” the mum added.
“She doesn’t remember anything, I don’t think she understands what happened. She is only ten. If I could do anything to help raise awareness for it I will.
“It has been a shock to all of us. It has just been a hideous time for me. But she has been so lucky with this, it all could’ve been a lot worse.”
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