A mission of The Stroke Research Foundation that I have founded is to develop media initiatives to spread awareness about things that I am sure that the general public is wholly unaware. In many cases, the same can be said about me even though I am a survivor, and one who is now an author in the field. Who would have thunk?
One of the more surprising of these areas is the subject of Stroke in Children. The Summer 2015 issue of StrokeSmart, the current issue, which is the Journal of the National Stroke Association magazine makes reference to Young People and Stroke. Some shocking and I mean shocking statistics that I would bet that not 1 in a 1,000 would know:
- Stroke is among the top 10 causes of childhood death
- An estimated 3,000 children die of strokes per year in the US
- Boys have a higher incidence of stroke
- Nearly half of all pediatric strokes occur during the first year of life
- And the recurrence rate in pediatric stroke is 20%
While writing my book I was introduced to a lovely young woman who had a baby who had had a stroke. The child suffered a brain injury in the event and after several years of being institutionalized had passed. Clearly a tragedy to behold!
When I speak about stroke I sense that most people think of stroke as an elder disease. While that is certainly partly true, during the past several months I have met several young people who would shatter that notion. A young man of 28 with a child in Cape Coral, Fl, a bright young lady of 30 in Ft. Myers, Fl whose promising career was certainly impacted by her stroke! These have opened my eyes to what for me is “the new reality”.
Thanks to StrokeSmart for the statistics and head’s up which form the basis of this blog post.
