Christian's Story - Part 1 - surviving brain stem stroke
Christian's Story - Part 1 - surviving brain stem stroke
The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association celebrates advancements in stroke systems of care at it’s Twin Cities Heart \u0026 Stroke Gala Nov. 7, 2015. Christian England-Sullivan suffered a stroke April 2015 at the age of 22. Thanks to systems in MN, he survived and is able to walk and run again. #TCHeartGala
Content
0.416 -> (soft instrumental music)
4.507 -> - As a mother, all you wanna
do is protect your child.
8.988 -> And not to be able to
sit there and protect him
11.96 -> and to help him
14.561 -> was horrible.
22.397 -> It was a Wednesday morning, April 15th,
26.116 -> and I received the phone call around 6:45,
29.193 -> 7 A.M. from the emergency room,
31.456 -> saying that they had Christian
at the Duluth Emergency,
34.533 -> and they needed me to call them back.
36.681 -> The neurosurgeon got
on the phone and said,
39.455 -> "There's three things.
41.22 -> "It can be a blood disorder,
43.577 -> "it could be meningitis,
45.944 -> "or it could be a stroke."
48.406 -> Then he goes, "I don't see that being him.
50.53 -> He's 22 years old, he's in great shape.
52.55 -> No way.
58.377 -> I'm 96 miles away from Duluth,
61.094 -> because I live down.
63.033 -> And the phone rings and
the neurosurgeon said,
65.309 -> "It's a stroke.
66.485 -> "Don't even come here.
67.844 -> "We're Medi-Vacing him
to United in St. Paul."
70.49 -> I called my husband, who was in San Diego
72.069 -> on business, and said,
73.927 -> "It looks bad.
75.064 -> "Get a flight home."
78.268 -> - Once you start hearing about what it is,
81.624 -> and start putting together
the bits and pieces,
85.687 -> it was worse than what we had imagined.
87.765 -> Brain stem strokes were pretty specific,
90.469 -> and it was all bad.
92.304 -> There were just no good outcomes.
100.581 -> - And he comes in (clearing throat)
102.867 -> and he's on a stretcher,
and he's ventilated,
106.583 -> and
111.15 -> the nurse opened his eyes,
115.005 -> and said, "He's in a coma
and he's unresponsive.
119.23 -> "We're not even going to do a CT scan.
121.204 -> "We're taking him straight
in and getting the clot out."
125.929 -> I squeezed his hand.
128.761 -> I told him I loved him.
131.768 -> And that Mom was here.
134.705 -> And I gave him a kiss on the forehead,
136.505 -> and they wheeled him away.
138.35 -> When the doctor tells you,
looking at his brain stem,
142.982 -> that there's only a 2% chance
that he's going to survive,
146.65 -> that's when it hit me.
149.124 -> That we'd either lose
him, or this would be
152.827 -> a life-changing event,
156.344 -> and the son that we
raised would be different.
171.54 -> An hour after the procedure
was the most horrific thing
176.045 -> I have ever experienced in my life.
179.597 -> Because they had to take him off sedation,
182.917 -> you could hear him screaming.
184.867 -> He was like trapped in his body,
187.062 -> and he couldn't get out.
191.647 -> - With all things surreal,
it was like a nightmare.
195.223 -> That's horrifying, to think that
198.785 -> the only thing he could
do was move his eyelids.
201.67 -> Fully cognitive.
203.83 -> You're latching on to
any little bit of hope
207.231 -> you get at that point.
209.309 -> - The doctor came in and pulled us over
212.525 -> and showed us Christian's brain,
216.368 -> and he said, "This is his brain stem."
219.211 -> And then he goes, "80% of it is missing.
222.148 -> "Realistically, if he squeezes your hand,
226.363 -> "and that's all we get, we're happy.
229.045 -> "So, be happy with that.
231.482 -> "Be there for him, but
235.412 -> I don't forsee him walking again.
239.672 -> "And if he does walk, we're
talking a year or two out."
244.072 -> It wasn't the son I knew (sighing).
249.003 -> (melancholy music)
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaVxRG6_UBA