Two-year-old survives rare stroke

Carter's parents acted quickly when they noticed a sudden drop on the right side of his face

A toddler has survived a rare stroke after his parents quickly spotted the signs.

Southampton Children's Hospital (SCH) have praised Carter's parents for their quick thinking to save their two-year-old.

Mum Elise and dad Lawrence were at their home in Crowthorne when they noticed a sudden drop on the right-hand side of Carter's face.

A hospital spokesperson said the rare form of stroke effects fewer than 100 children a year in the UK.

Carter is now back at home with his mum and dad and nine-year-old brother Hunter

Carter's parents initially thought he was having an allergic reaction and gave him a dose of Piriton.

His face momentarily returned to normal but seconds later, when his face dropped again, they said they knew something was not right.

Elise said: “I think I knew it was a stroke after that, I remembered seeing the Act FAST campaign featuring an older gentleman on TV and it looked the same.

"I had never heard of a toddler having a stroke before, but I just knew we had to get him to hospital.”

When she reached for her phone, Carter's older brother, nine-year-old Hunter, had already dialled two nines.

"I didn't do a third nine just in case we didn't need it," he said, but added he was "extremely worried".

Carter was put into a medically-induced coma to reduce the swelling on his brain

Carter was rushed by an ambulance to his local hospital, and later transferred to SCH.

Doctors found he had suffered an arterial ischemic stroke within the middle cerebral artery on the left-hand side of his brain – described as rare in a two-year-old.

He was treated at Southampton's paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and was put into a medically-induced coma to reduce the swelling in his brain.

Elise added: "It was the worst time for us all. We were told Carter's type of stroke was severe and to prepare for the worst, but we were always hopeful.

"Nobody could tell us for sure what the future was going to look like and if Carter would survive."

Dr Georgina Bird-Lieberman, consultant paediatric neurologist and SCIRT lead, said: “We offer a complete bespoke service, and with Carter being so young, we took a very playful approach to his rehab.

"He has made a remarkable recovery, which is testament to his resilience and the support he has received."

The two-year-old received daily rehabilitation for six weeks

Initially Carter’s cognitive skills were very limited - he could not communicate or walk and struggled with his right-sided weakness, particularly his right arm.

But after daily rehabilitation, he returned home in time to celebrate his third birthday and is continuing his rehabilitation as an outpatient.

His dad Lawrence said: “Carter is now back to the happy little boy he was, laughing and playing.

"He's still got a long way to go, but when I see that smile on his face, we couldn't ask for more than that."

And Hunter has been helping his little brother with his recovery by "playing, talking, asking him questions".

"It's basically like school at home," he said.

"It's fun... he's my bestest of friends."

Carter arrived home in time for his third birthday