Michelle is moving ahead after experiencing a stroke

In fall of 2014, I was a senior, excited about finishing high school in New Hampshire and heading off to college. But I could never have guessed what the year would bring. I was an avid lacrosse player and competing in my fifth game of a tournament when I started to notice I was having trouble seeing out of my left eye. Soon, my hand felt weird and I couldn’t grip the stick properly. As I sat on the sidelines, onlookers recommended I be taken to a local hospital. Recovering from stroke I can’t remember a lot of what happened next, but I know that the emergency doctors believed I had a stroke. They sent me to the Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center at Boston Children’s Hospital because it was better equipped to care for kids and teenagers. As you can imagine, it was pretty scary to realize that I’d had a stroke, but everyone at Boston Children’s was so comforting. They knew how to make me feel calm. After about five or six days, I was able to go home. Because the stroke affected the right side of a part of my brain called the thalamus and posterior limb of the internal capsule, I had difficulty moving my left arm and leg. I had to learn how to walk again and how to feed myself. The hardest thing to relearn was how to swallow, but I was able to do it. My physical and occupational therapists also gave me exercises to do at home. My mom, grandmother, and brother did them with me, which made it easier. Looking to the future Although I missed a lot of school that year, I w...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Diseases & Conditions Our Patients’ Stories Dr. Cameron Trenor Dr. Laura Lehman pediatric stroke Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center Source Type: news