Sara_7


Sara B

Sara is a delightful 12 year old girl. Growing up, she enjoyed many sports and activities including basketball, soccer and tae kwon do. However, on September 26, when she was playing outside with friends she collapsed and suffered a stroke. Noticing that she was unable to speak, she limped into the school to get help. 911 was called immediately. She was rushed to hospital, and was unconscious by the time they reached the hospital. By late evening, Sarah's stroke was specifically diagnosed as an AVM, or ARTERIOVENOUS malformation, and underwent emergency surgery at Sick Kids hospital. She was ICU for five days, then spent three additional weeks in hospital before being transferred directly to Bloorview Kids Rehab.

It is now several months later and Sara's right arm is still very weak, and her left leg is "probably about 60% recovered", says her father, Doug. She continues to struggle with fine motor activities on that side. Sara still visits the Bloorview Kids Rehab twice a week and receives both occupational and physiotherapy. Unfortunately, the wait for speech therapy could be up to a year. That's a year that Sarah cannot afford to lose as that time frame is exactly when her best recovery result could occur. Speech therapy a year from now may not prove as successful for her. Her father says, they may need to peruse private speech therapy for his daughter. This will be an expensive option, but probably the best choice for immediate help.