A 10-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after his tongue felt "tingly" minutes after waving goodbye to his mum.
Joey Tildesley-Devine, from St Helens, donned a dicky bow and suit for 'own clothes day' at school, but minutes after his mum Karen dropped him off, the headteacher came to find her. The school had already called an ambulance after the "happy" boy took a sudden turn in class.
He'd told a classmate his "tongue was a bit tingly" and went to get a glass of water before a teaching assistant heard him yelp and realised the "frightened" 10-year-old had lost the ability to speak. When Karen, who was still on the school premises, saw Joey "slumped to his right hand side" with his face "completely drooped", the former nursing home worker knew he'd had a stroke. He was one of the 400 kids each year in the UK who have one, according to Brain Research UK.
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Mum-of-two Karen told the ECHO: "It was strange really because, although I knew straight away that's what it was, I didn't want to believe it - he was only 10, it can't be. But deep down in my heart, I knew that's what had happened. He was in such a bad way, we didn't know if he'd make it or not, so it was quite a significant shock."
Joey had suffered an arteriovenous malformation, a rare type of stroke involving an abnormal tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries to veins, according to the NHS. With Joey unable to squeeze hands or respond to questions, but with no ambulance available to attend, his parents decided to take him to Whiston Hospital where Karen works as a midwife.
The 10-year-old was then "blue lighted" to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in an ambulance. Karen said: "He went straight into theatre, so we didn't see him again until gone nine o'clock that evening. You're all day waiting, you know, 'Has he even made it through surgery?'.
"We were told in no uncertain terms that he might not make the surgery, his brain might have taken too much damage because the scans they did showed half of one side of his brain was just a clot, a massive clot. I look back now and don't know how we coped.
"My parents came, my husband's business partner came, my sister came, people were in and out, and we were already planning what his funeral might be. We were talking about all kinds, hoping it wouldn't get to there, but the practical side of things. It was the longest day ever, I couldn't eat or drink anything. I was just waiting."
Karen found it "heart stopping" when the surgeon walked through the door to say their son survived. Joey spent three days in an induced coma before starting the "long road" of recovery. Despite being told he might never walk or talk again, Joey, now 14, is able to walk, albeit with a "drop foot".
The "very clever" boy's education has been affected as he struggles to communicate his knowledge, but "it's still all in there". He lost much of the use of his right arm and "can't do anything functionally" with it, almost scuppering his dream of being an artist, but Joey has remained "positive throughout."
Karen said: "He's been absolutely amazing. He was right handed and he's lost that side, but he's learnt to draw amazingly with his left hand. He's got determination. He's determined that he will achieve whatever he wants to, and I'm sure he will."
She added: "He's optimistic. He's told me he's going to go to university, he's going to drive a car, he's going to have a family. He very much knows what he wants."
Joey was lucky his stroke was identified fast as early treatment reduces the chance of disability or death. But a quarter of teens and almost as many parents failed to identify any of the three most common signs of stroke - facial drooping, not being able to raise your arms properly, and struggling to speak - according to a new survey by the Stroke Association.
The research, released on World Stroke Day on Saturday, October 29, revealed 40% of teens don't know a stroke is a blood clot or bleed on the brain, despite most being certain they had that knowledge, while a third of parents couldn't correctly define a stroke.
In the North West, 63% of teens were unaware of the FAST (Face Arm Speech Time) acronym for identifying a stroke and acting on it, while 40% didn't know calling 999 is the first thing they should do when someone is having a stroke.
Stroke Association said it "fears that millions of people across the UK are not equipped with vital knowledge of how to spot a stroke and that calling 999 immediately is critical to saving lives and preventing disability from stroke". To change this, the charity launched its 'Pass FAST on' campaign calling on the public share the signs and symptoms of stroke, and what do do when one strikes, with others.
Karen said: "Joey was in school when it happened. When you think of the amount of children it can happen to, children around them need to be aware. It's important for children to know what can happen and be able to spot it in other people. It's much more common than people think, and if you spot those symptoms early enough, you can save somebody's life."
Juliet Bouverie, chief executive of the Stroke Association, said: "Stroke strikes every five minutes in the UK, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving thousands of stroke survivors with complex and severe disability. We've seen impressive results from previous Act FAST campaigns.
"These survey statistics show just how important it is that we continue to raise awareness of the symptoms of stroke, particularly amongst a younger audience – when so many know a stroke survivor, it's worrying that so few know the signs or what to do if stroke strikes. Therefore, we urge the Government to continue to invest in the Act FAST campaign."
She added: "The first thing every one of us can do this World Stroke Day, young and old alike, is to make sure you and your loved ones all know the FAST test. It's easy to remember the most common signs of stroke: changes to the Face, Arms and Speech - then it's Time to call 999.
"Treating mini strokes with the same urgency as strokes is also vital. If you spot any of these signs, even for a short time, it's important you take action. Acting FAST is the biggest and most important thing you can do to save a life and prevent people from severe disability from stroke. So 'Pass FAST on' today."
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