Thank you, Arthur, for this " inspiring story " .



To the public, stroke means weakness, usually permanent on one side, often with loss of speech. It may be fatal in at least a fifth of cases. Although the risk increases with age, about a quarter do occur before the age of 65. As the above report tells us, about 400 UK children have a stroke every year.



The causes in adults are usually blockage of an artery by thrombosis ( a blood clot, with similar causes to heart attacks ), but they may also be bleeding into the brain substance ( often due to high blood pressure ), or into the " subarachnoid space " around the brain.


As pointed out, the causes may be different - including infection - in children, and abnormal blood vessel anatomy is also more likely than in adults.


Early recognition is important . Paramedics and the public are encouraged to make the diagnosis of stroke on a simple history and examination :-



F ace - sudden weakness of the face
A rm - sudden weakness of one or both arms
S peech - difficulty speaking, slurred speech
T ime - the sooner treatment can be started, the better.



It’s understandable, with such an unusual condition, that the mother of this 14 year old first told her to stop being a " drama queen " - and good news that she ended up being correctly diagnosed and treated .