Our warriors name is, Brandon.
On October 31, 2017 four days after his High School won their State Cross Country title our son collapsed after Cross County practice in our bathroom. He was healthy, in the best shape of his life and only 17 years old.
Immediately, I recognized the signs of a stroke since my best friend had a stroke the year prior. The next 48 hours was intense, draining and overwhelming after calling 911. The medical community whether it was the EMT's or Dr's at the ER did not believe or want to believe my healthy son was having a stroke. It was like everything was in slow motion and as parents we had to advocate the best we could to get the treatment our son needed. After 3 hours it was determined that Brandon was having a stroke and it was one of the deadliest forms; a Basilar Artery stroke. After being transferred via ambulance to a trauma hospital an emergency surgery was performed to remove the blood clot and the journey began. The stroke left Brandon without use of his left side, speech deficit and memory & vision loss.
Brandon participated in Occupational, Physical, Vision and Speech therapy in the coming months. He worked hard and he got stronger and his left side came back to life and things started to look up. But then, he was told by his Hematologist that due to the medication he was taking he would never run again. This was not something Brandon would accept and he was up for the challenge to prove the Dr. wrong.
We decided while we have top Dr's. in Kansas City where we live we were going to travel to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to receive the remainder of Brandon's treatment. Once at Mayo we were given hope. Mayo changed Brandon's meds and he was back in the saddle to start running again. Brandon got a whole treatment team and they carefully devised a plan for Brandon. Every 8 weeks we returned for testing, treatment, or procedures.
Once therapy was completed and Brandon was back at school he started to gradually start building up his stamina so that he could run and learn again. It was overwhelming & emotional to do the thing he loved (running) so much because it was like starting all over again but he pushed through the pain and he pushed through the voices in his head.
All the hard work Brandon put in the Winter & Spring of 2018 not only got him back on the track but he won his Conference 800m race. Then, he did something that no one saw coming - he qualified for the State meet at the Regional race for the 800m and 4 x 800 events. It was validation for Brandon and that is something he desperately needed at the time. The year prior, Brandon, had won the 800m race at the State meet so to be able to go back in front of a crowd of 30,000 people and race again his senior year was exhilarating. While the State race did not go as he had hoped he ended his senior year on a high note knowing he defied every odd that was stacked against him. Brandon went on to College and ran at Washburn University on their Cross Country and Track Team his Freshman and Sophomore year.
As a parent when you see your child suffering you want to trade places with them so much when they are hurting. Since we cannot we have to love them, support them and sometimes be the punching bag. We did all that with Brandon and continue to. Like any young adult he has his good and bad days but we try to focus on the positive and move forward and celebrate the accomplishments along the way.
Some advice that I can give to parents that are just experiencing this with their child is to reach out and use social media to connect with others in a similar circumstance. The Children's Stroke Foundation of the Midwest was founded by 2 friends of mine whose children had strokes in utero. The foundation reached out to our family immediately and gave us resources and hope. Also, do not be afraid to ask for help or accept it. I learned very fast that while I wanted to keep every thing running it was not humanly possible. And, if you need to cry then cry. If you need to scream then scream. Take care of you along the way.
I will finish with this quote that someone said to be when I was struggling through this journey:
"In life their are some things we never really "get over". Sometimes, the best we can do is just "get through"."
On October 31, 2017 four days after his High School won their State Cross Country title our son collapsed after Cross County practice in our bathroom. He was healthy, in the best shape of his life and only 17 years old.
Immediately, I recognized the signs of a stroke since my best friend had a stroke the year prior. The next 48 hours was intense, draining and overwhelming after calling 911. The medical community whether it was the EMT's or Dr's at the ER did not believe or want to believe my healthy son was having a stroke. It was like everything was in slow motion and as parents we had to advocate the best we could to get the treatment our son needed. After 3 hours it was determined that Brandon was having a stroke and it was one of the deadliest forms; a Basilar Artery stroke. After being transferred via ambulance to a trauma hospital an emergency surgery was performed to remove the blood clot and the journey began. The stroke left Brandon without use of his left side, speech deficit and memory & vision loss.
Brandon participated in Occupational, Physical, Vision and Speech therapy in the coming months. He worked hard and he got stronger and his left side came back to life and things started to look up. But then, he was told by his Hematologist that due to the medication he was taking he would never run again. This was not something Brandon would accept and he was up for the challenge to prove the Dr. wrong.
We decided while we have top Dr's. in Kansas City where we live we were going to travel to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to receive the remainder of Brandon's treatment. Once at Mayo we were given hope. Mayo changed Brandon's meds and he was back in the saddle to start running again. Brandon got a whole treatment team and they carefully devised a plan for Brandon. Every 8 weeks we returned for testing, treatment, or procedures.
Once therapy was completed and Brandon was back at school he started to gradually start building up his stamina so that he could run and learn again. It was overwhelming & emotional to do the thing he loved (running) so much because it was like starting all over again but he pushed through the pain and he pushed through the voices in his head.
All the hard work Brandon put in the Winter & Spring of 2018 not only got him back on the track but he won his Conference 800m race. Then, he did something that no one saw coming - he qualified for the State meet at the Regional race for the 800m and 4 x 800 events. It was validation for Brandon and that is something he desperately needed at the time. The year prior, Brandon, had won the 800m race at the State meet so to be able to go back in front of a crowd of 30,000 people and race again his senior year was exhilarating. While the State race did not go as he had hoped he ended his senior year on a high note knowing he defied every odd that was stacked against him. Brandon went on to College and ran at Washburn University on their Cross Country and Track Team his Freshman and Sophomore year.
As a parent when you see your child suffering you want to trade places with them so much when they are hurting. Since we cannot we have to love them, support them and sometimes be the punching bag. We did all that with Brandon and continue to. Like any young adult he has his good and bad days but we try to focus on the positive and move forward and celebrate the accomplishments along the way.
Some advice that I can give to parents that are just experiencing this with their child is to reach out and use social media to connect with others in a similar circumstance. The Children's Stroke Foundation of the Midwest was founded by 2 friends of mine whose children had strokes in utero. The foundation reached out to our family immediately and gave us resources and hope. Also, do not be afraid to ask for help or accept it. I learned very fast that while I wanted to keep every thing running it was not humanly possible. And, if you need to cry then cry. If you need to scream then scream. Take care of you along the way.
I will finish with this quote that someone said to be when I was struggling through this journey:
"In life their are some things we never really "get over". Sometimes, the best we can do is just "get through"."
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