Meet Ryley — Stroke at age 15
“Life after stroke”, words that I never imagined I would ever speak, much less write about. Nevertheless, it has become my life, as I am the parent of a pediatric stroke survivor. My son, Ryley, at the age of 15 suffered multiple strokes, and it has changed the course of our lives.
July 8, 2013 started out as any other day that summer, Ryley had gotten himself up very early to get ready for football practice. I had just gotten out of bed to tell him goodbye as he walked out the door to catch a ride with a friend. A little over an hour later I received a frantic call from the mother of another player and friend, her son called to tell her that Ryley had collapsed during warm ups and the ambulance had been called.
In a panic, I got dressed, and rushed to the ER. I beat the ambulance to the hospital, and was anxiously waiting as they arrived. As soon as he they wheeled him in, it was clear that something was seriously wrong. He was not able to move or speak and had the worst look of fear in his eyes. He was immediately taken in for a CT scan. After what seemed like hours of waiting, the physician let me know that “his injury is too severe to treat here, and the Arkansas Children’s Hospital air evac has been dispatched”. I had just enough time to run home and collect some clothes and essentials, before they arrived and I could ride with him on the helicopter.
