Kids Have Strokes More Often Than Thought

After many inconclusive doctor visits over the course of a year, Jessica Spear, of St. Louis, Mo.,...

After many inconclusive doctor visits over the course of a year, Jessica Spear, of St. Louis, Mo., took her son to a neurologist for a brain scan when he was almost 19 months old and learned that he had the neuromuscular disorder cerebral palsy due to a stroke sustained in utero.

(Courtesy Jessica Spear)

Stroke Can Strike Regardless of Age

"All the symptoms pointed to [stroke], even though he was young," Harris said. "The hospital didn't have a lot of experience in treatment options for children, so they offered us treatments they would give to adults. But they knew there was a risk."

Scans showed that Meikle, who also has an enlarged heart for which he has a pacemaker, had a blood clot lodged at the base of two veins on the right side of his brain, which was why his left eye was affected. He was treated with medications to break up the clot.

"After the medication... he felt he could move his arm -- which for me, it felt like watching my son walk again for the first time," Harris said. "That same evening, his mobility was completely restored... And now there are no physical remnants of the stroke."

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Meikle made a full recovery. But children who suffer a stroke often live with the aftereffects for the rest of their lives. Such children are at increased risk for subsequent strokes as well as seizure disorders. In addition, developmental disorders, such as cerebral palsy, can impair their cognitive abilities and their motor function, requiring a lifetime of physical, occupational, or speech therapy.

Early Therapy Can Help Pediatric Stroke Survivors

"If you can get in there while these kids' brains are still plastic, you can still create [connections]," said Mary Kay Ballasiotes, of Evans, Ga., whose daughter Michelle had a stroke in utero during Ballasiotes' second trimester. "That's what's frustrating, when these babies are being diagnosed at 18 months or two years, you've lost all this time creating these new connections."

Michelle, 11, began occupational therapy at 6 months and continues to work with a therapist. She has not had another stroke since her birth but she does have cerebral palsy and wears an ankle brace to steady her leg muscles.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't have [the disorder] to see what it felt like not to have it, but I will never know any different," Michelle said. "Learning and remembering things is still hard for me and I run slow... I'm probably as good as I can get."