A 13-year-old from Northumberland suffered a stroke while on holiday, with medics initially attributing her symptoms to a sinus condition. Matilda Stacey, then 13, was in the US when she began complaining of something that "was not a normal headache."
She was given fluids and antibiotics and was told she could fly home. However, after returning to England from the family trip to visit relatives, Matilda continued to feel acutely unwell. She couldn't eat or drink, was exhausted and could "barely lift her head without pain."
From headache to numb leg
After flying into Heathrow Airport and while awaiting a connecting flight back to the North East, her dad rushed her to the nearest accident and emergency department. Matilda was taken to hospital on August 16, 2024. By August 18, her mum's birthday, she had noticed her left leg had become numb.
Matilda explained how her symptoms had begun: "It just felt wrong. It wasn't a normal headache. It was constant." Regarding her loss of feeling in her leg, she added: "My left leg suddenly went numb. I remember thinking, that shouldn't happen."
She told nurses, but at the time this was put down to simply a dead leg. Unbeknown to anyone, she was suffering a stroke. Now, Matilda and her family are speaking out as part of charity the Stroke Association's Survival is Not Enough campaign.
Deterioration and emergency surgery
Over the day after she reported a numb leg, Matilda's body began to "betray her in ways she couldn't understand." This included that she couldn't speak normally and her thoughts were scrambled. Her right arm and leg also began moving of their own accord, while her left side remained unresponsive.
Mum Kimberly said: "It was terrifying. She couldn't explain what was happening. She or I couldn't even understand it. We felt frustrated that no one could explain what was happening. We felt like we had lost her, Matilda wasn't there with us."
As Matilda deteriorated, she was transferred to a different hospital and paediatric intensive care. It turned out that an infection had spread to her brain, and the family were warned "another catastrophic stroke" was possible.
Kimberly continued: "They discovered that the infection Matilda had been fighting hadn't stayed where it was supposed to. It had spread through her meninges, the protective layers around the brain causing vasculitis. We were told Matilda was at high risk of another catastrophic stroke. We were warned not to get our hopes up."
Recovery and return to football
Matilda was in intensive care for two weeks and underwent emergency surgery. She also had another stroke. However, remarkably, after surgery she began to improve. At one stage, the family explained, the fact that she asked for a chocolate milkshake was a sign that she was becoming more like herself.
She began to improve and left intensive care, but had to remain in hospital for another two months. Matilda went through a "slow, controlled and relentless" recovery, which required her blood pressure to be monitored constantly and physiotherapy to become part of daily life.
Matilda had to learn to walk, talk, eat and even kick a football again. Meanwhile, she missed the first two months of high school. The sporty and football-loving teenager has had to work exceptionally hard during her recovery, but is now even back to playing football. She said: "I've had to work so much harder than before. But I'm getting there."
Matilda's achievements even include completing her bronze Duke of Edinburgh award. Mum Kimberly added: "We weren't sure if she could do it. Finishing it has made us realize how strong she is, and how much she can still do."
Now Matilda has returned to playing grassroots football, and also represents the Newcastle United Cerebral Palsy football team. She said: "Being back on the pitch means everything to me. It reminds me that my life didn't end when I had my stroke. People think strokes only happen to older people. But they can happen to anyone. Even kids."
Campaign for awareness
Matilda also called for more awareness and empathy around strokes and recovery. She said: "Just because you're back at school or look okay doesn't mean you're fine. It doesn't just stop. I want people to be more empathetic. You never know what someone has been through."
The Stroke Association campaign comes amid figures which show someone in the UK has a stroke every five minutes, and that 1.4m people are currently living with a brain injury caused by stroke. Though one in four strokes happen to those of working age, more than a third of those aged 18 to 34 and a quarter of those aged 35 to 44 think they are too young to have a stroke. There is also, the charity said, a lack of awareness about what the impact can be.
The Survival is Not Enough campaign highlights the need for better knowledge around the impact of stroke. As part of this, a documentary series on Channel 4, called "Trauma: My Broken Brain" follows three young adults through the journey that follows their strokes. It is available to stream from 10pm on October 26.
Juliet Bouverie, chief executive of the Stroke Association, said: "A stroke is a devastating brain injury, leaving behind life-changing trauma. In an instant, a stroke can steal away the things that many of us take for granted, such as walking, talking, eating and living independently; the things that make you, you. This new research shows that people still don't understand a stroke happens in the brain and wrongly believe a stroke only affects older people. A stroke isn't only a medical emergency from which you either die or survive, but instead the start of a long and gruelling journey to rebuilding a life. For so many stroke survivors, the fight doesn't end when their lives are saved, yet every day survivors and their families are left traumatised and without the long-term rehabilitation and support they need. After everything a stroke takes, no-one should have to fight for essential support to recover and live a full life again."
The charity has also unveiled a giant ice sculpture of a brain on London's South Bank, designed to represent the complexity and fragility of our brains.
