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Laurel’s Stroke Recovery at Texas Children’s Hospital

Patient Stories

Mother of stroke patient shares her daughter’s story of hope and resilience to raise awareness for World Thrombosis Day. 

When Laurel was nine years old, she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get out of bed. 

“We were in Florida visiting my dad for Christmas,” remembers Laurel’s mom, Terri. “Laurel went to sleep on the night of December 19th. At 2 am, I heard her voice calling out, saying, ‘Mommy, I can’t move.’” 

“What do you mean?” Terri said, barely awake. 

“I have to go to the bathroom.” 

“You know where the bathroom is, sweetie. Just get up and go.” 

“I can’t,” said Laurel. 

Terri turned on the light. Laurel, she saw, had slid down off the corner of her bed. Her body was dangling, and her whole left side was paralyzed. 

Laurel was rushed to a local children’s hospital in St. Petersburg.  

“We tried to stay calm for Laurel,” remembers Terri. “But internally I was freaking out. It was terrifying.” 

The diagnosis

Laurel had suffered an ischemic stroke. An ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot (thrombus) or plaque blocks blood flow to the brain.  

“When people think of blood clots, they often think of older adults,” said Terri. “But really anyone with risk factors at any age — even younger than Laurel — can suffer from the effects of a thrombus.” 

In Laurel’s case, she had a major risk factor. Born with a congenital heart defect, Laurel had spent the first several weeks of her life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Texas Children’s Hospital. 

“She was born with right atrioventricular (AV) hypoplasia, which is a rare defect that means Laurel’s heart didn’t form on the right side,” Terri explained. “Only the left side of her heart is functioning.” 

By the time she was five years old, Laurel had undergone multiple surgeries. She had a Glenn procedure to reroute her blood circulation from the upper body to the lungs, bypassing the heart, and a Fontan procedure: a subsequent operation for people born with only one working heart ventricle.  

“Texas Children’s literally saved my daughter’s life,” said Terri. “Part of the reason I was freaking out when she had her stroke was that we were so far away from her expert care team at Texas Children’s.” 

At the children’s hospital in St. Petersburg, however, Terri was relieved to learn that Laurel’s doctors had all done their training at Texas Children’s, and they personally knew Laurel’s care team.” 

“It was a huge relief,” remembers Terri. “Even though we were in Florida, Texas Children’s was still taking care of my daughter. The hospitals worked in conjunction; they collaborated and did everything together.”    

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World Thrombosis Day

Terri is sharing her daughter’s story to raise awareness for World Thrombosis Day. Held annually on October 13th, World Thrombosis Day is a global initiative led by the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) to help educate the general public about this often underestimated and misunderstood condition, to inspire positive change, and to rally support for enhanced care, education and research for this often silent threat. 

Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in a blood vessel. Once formed, a clot can slow down — or completely block — normal blood flow, and it can even break loose and travel to an organ. A clot that travels is called an embolism. Often preventable, thrombosis is the underlying pathology of heart attack, stroke and venous thromboembolism (VTE) – three of the top three cardiovascular killers. 

Blood clots affect people of all ages, races and ethnicities and occur in both men and women. 1 in 4 people worldwide die from conditions caused by thrombosis. 60% of venous clots occur during or after hospitalization, making hospital-associated clots a leading cause of preventable hospital death. 

“It is important to make our community aware of these risks and encourage people to make lifestyle changes to decrease their chance of having blood clots,” said Terri. “Simply moving more on a daily basis, like taking more walks or riding a bike, as well as weight loss, can make a big difference in preventing the risk of blood clots. Hopefully, by raising awareness we will see a decline in this health problem.” 

Signs and symptoms of deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

A DVT is a blood clot that forms in a vein deep in the body. Some common symptoms, which typically occur in the arms or legs, include: 

  • Pain or tenderness
  • Swelling
  • Discoloration 
  • Warmth

Signs and symptoms of pulmonary embolism (PE)

A PE is a sudden blockage in a lung artery. The blockage usually is caused by a blood clot that travels to the lung from a vein in the leg. Common symptoms include: 

  • Shortness of breath 
  • Rapid breathing 
  • Chest pain 
  • Lightheadedness or passing out 
  • Coughing up blood  

Laurel’s recovery

“I am so happy to report that Laurel has made a full recovery,” says Terri. “She had to relearn so much — how to walk, how to use her hands, etc. But children are so resilient. Seeing her now, you would never know she had a stroke.” 

Laurel is fourteen years old. She loves swimming, baking and playing Roblox with her friends. At her school’s Fall Festival last year, she won first place in the annual bake-off. Because of her experiences at Texas Children’s, her dream is to become a pediatric cardiologist when she grows up. 

“She loves helping others,” says Terri. “Last year, she organized two fundraisers to benefit patients at Texas Children’s. As a family, we are so incredibly grateful for Texas Children’s. The staff is amazing! Nurses, physicians, techs, cafeteria workers, administrators — everyone at Texas Children’s has a caring spirit not only for their pediatric patient population but also for the families of the patients. I cannot tell you how many times someone on staff in a myriad of different roles has made my day with a smile, a hug, a caring nod. Compassion is truly in their corporate culture from the top down.”  

Terri remembers a particularly inspiring experience at Texas Children’s, not long after Laurel’s stroke. She had an appointment with her hematologist, and she had to have some blood drawn first.  

“This was early in her stroke recovery process and Laurel was still feeling sad about it,” remembers Terri. “The phlebotomist was very kind and told Laurel that she would make an amazing recovery because she could tell that Laurel was strong and resilient. That put Laurel at ease as she was drawing her blood. After she finished, she told Laurel how she and Laurel were very much alike. She shared that she, too, had suffered a stroke as a child, like Laurel, and that through physical and occupational therapy, she was able to make a full recovery. She was able to use both of her hands to draw blood on Laurel! She encouraged Laurel to stay positive and do her best during her therapy sessions because those sessions had helped her achieve her goals, and she knew Laurel, too, could achieve whatever goals she had in life with perseverance. After that day, I saw how Laurel had renewed vigor during her therapy sessions. She tried harder and it made a difference in her recovery.”  

Dr. Sarah Sartain, Director of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program at Texas Children’s and Associate Professor of Hematology-Oncology at Baylor College of Medicine, is thrilled to see Laurel’s recovery. As Laurel’s treating hematologist, she knows firsthand how much Laurel has been through.   

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“Laurel is such a sweet, courageous girl, and a wonderful example of hope and resilience to share on World Thrombosis Day,” said Dr. Sartain. “I hope her story of recovery is an inspiration to the countless families in the world who are dealing with the devastating consequences of thrombosis.”    

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