Fiona and Angus' Story
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When you hear that someone had a stroke, you almost certainly wouldn't picture a child. But in November 2023, Angus had a stroke at only 10 years old - and now his mum, Fiona, is on a mission to raise awareness of childhood stroke.
Angus was riding his motorbike when he fell off and badly hurt his neck. A helicopter transported him to Dunedin Hospital so he could be treated for his neck injury. The plan was to have an operation on his neck the following morning - but before the surgery could happen, Angus collapsed.
"He fell sideways into the wall," Fiona recalls. "He couldn't talk and he couldn't move the left side of his body."
Despite showing stroke symptoms, no one considered that Angus could be having a stroke. Initially, nurses suspected he had fainted and that he had probably been lying on his arm which made it go numb. But Fiona knew that wasn't the case and that this had to be something else. Eventually, they performed a CT scan and the truth was revealed: Angus had experienced a stroke and the right side of his brain was being deprived of oxygen. It is likely that when Angus injured his neck, his carotid artery was damaged, leading to clotting which then caused his stroke.
From there, things moved quickly. Angus and Fiona were again transported via helicopter, this time to Christchurch Hospital where surgeons immediately performed clot retrieval surgery.
"I don't know if they've ever done it in Christchurch before on a child so young," Fiona says.
Clot retrieval surgery can only be performed within a short window of time after stroke and is only available at three hospitals in New Zealand. Taking quick action is essential.
After the surgery, Angus remained in hospital for 9 days. He had a slight droop to his mouth and found it difficult to hold things in his left hand, but he was still able to walk and talk and was doing well overall.
"If more time had lapsed, the outcome wouldn't have been so good," Fiona says.
However, it became clear that his recovery wasn't going to follow a straightforward path. Angus began experiencing spasticity in his limbs, which is when joints and muscles stiffen and make it difficult to move. His recovery has also been made tougher due to living rurally, the lack of resources around children and stroke, and a confusing medical system.
The majority of strokes aren't covered by ACC, which means stroke survivors can't access the same level of support as other people who experience brain injuries. However, Angus' stroke was the result of an accident, which means that he is in the small group of stroke survivors who are entitled to ACC support. Fiona did not know that this meant Angus could access privately funded specialists and only found out after they had already spent months on public waitlists.
"I'm grateful that at least he can see some privately funded specialists that I think will help him," she says.
Fiona has found the lack of resources on childhood stroke tricky. But with the support of a Community Stroke Navigator from the Stroke Foundation, Fiona was able to create a plan to go forward and help Angus with his recovery.
"It was really helpful, because she gave me some ideas about how the return to school would go and things to discuss with the school," she says. "It was good to know there was someone there that I could phone if I had any queries and just to talk about Angus' follow up appointments."
Angus is now back at school two days a week, though Fiona is hoping this will increase back to full-time soon. Angus isn't allowed to play contact sports until at least a year after his stroke, which is tough for the rugby-loving 10-year-old to deal with. He is currently waiting for an innovative treatment to help with his left hemiplegia spasticity, and he regularly sees a physiotherapist, hand therapist and occupational therapist, as well as a pediatrician.
"They have all been great but obviously they're not used to dealing with children after stroke," Fiona says.
Fiona wants to raise awareness of childhood stroke, for both parents and health professionals. She also wants to connect with other parents of children who have experienced strokes, so they can build a community together.
"It's hard with the limited amount of information that's available for parents of children having stroke," she says. "If there's any other family in New Zealand who has a similar experience with their child, I'd be more than happy to share my details so they could have someone to talk to."
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Strokes can affect people of any age. If you suspect someone is having a stroke, call 111 immediately - even if they're a child.
If you would like to get in touch with Fiona, please contact marketing@stroke.org.nz.