When six year-old Ottilie Atkins complained of feeling sick and dizzy after an afternoon at soft play, her mother assumed she was suffering a case of exhaustion.
But within hours, the little girl’s vision had become blurry and her eyes ‘stopping working in unison’.
Ottilie’s mother Holly, 34, rushed her daughter to hospital, where doctors performed a barrage of tests and discovered the schoolgirl had suffered a life-threatening stroke.
The deadly attack happens when the blood supply to the brain is cut off, usually due to a blood clot or burst blood vessel inside the brain.
While the majority of strokes affect those over 65, the number of younger people suffering them is increasing.
A recent MailOnline analysis of NHS data revealed that strokes among men aged under 39 have jumped by nearly a quarter over the last two decades.
The Stroke Association has previously predicted that the number of 45-year-olds and above being affected will have risen by 59 per cent between 2018 and 2035.
Stroke in childhood is uncommon, affecting roughly 400 UK children a year, according to the charity Brain Research UK.
When Ottilie Atkins, six, complained of feeling sick and dizzy after an afternoon at soft play, her mother assumed she was suffering a case of exhaustion
Ottilile’s mother Holly, 34, rushed her daughter to hospital, where doctors performed a barrage of tests and discovered the schoolgirl had suffered a life-threatening stroke
In Ottilie Atkins’ case, doctors explained that the condition had struck as a result of a ‘reactivated’ case of chickenpox that she’d suffered 18 months earlier.
The infection triggered swelling in the brain which eventually sparked a stroke. In roughly one to two out of every 1,000 chickenpox cases the virus reaches the brain causing encephalitis, or brain swelling.
Holly is now running 31km during December to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital children’s charity, which helped Ottilie.
Speaking of the ordeal, Ms Atkins, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, said: ‘Ottilie has no real history of any health conditions, she’s always been generally very healthy.
‘She came out of a really small soft play, it was a tiny little thing, just her and her sister bouncing around.
‘She was very pale and was saying “I feel really dizzy”. She had a clammy feeling to her like she was sweaty and cold.
‘I thought maybe she’d been running around too much, maybe she’d exhausted herself, and just got a bit hot because it’s inside.
‘She sat down and had some sandwiches. Her colour started to come back but she kept saying she felt very dizzy.
While the majority of strokes affect those over 65, the number of younger people suffering them is increasing
‘I said “okay, we’re going to be going home soon so I’ll take you and we’ll leave Daddy and your sisters”.
‘As I was walking along with her I felt like her balance was off.’
After returning home, Ottilie watched a film before she started complaining of ‘seeing things twice’.
‘When I looked at her I felt like she wasn’t looking all the way forward. She tried to blink and change the way she was looking.
‘She was looking forward with one eye and it looked like the other eye was almost rolling around freely, it was really horrible to see.
‘The week prior to that, just a complete coincidence, I took her for an eye test because she was due one. The optician told me she had great vision.
‘I then saw this and thought “what’s happened in the space of a week?”.’
Ms Atkins took Ottilie to Watford General Hospital’s A&E department where she underwent an eye test, CT scan, blood tests and two MRI scans.
Holly is now running 31km during December to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital children’s charity, which helped Ottilie
On 17th October, four days after she was admitted to the children’s ward for testing, a consultant delivered the news that Ottilie had suffered a stroke.
‘I couldn’t really quite take in what she was saying,’ she said. ‘All I heard was the word stroke and I thought I misheard.
‘I said “sorry can I just clarify, did you say she had a stroke?” I couldn’t believe what she was saying. She did say it was very rare she she was very unlucky, but she was lucky that the severity hasn’t been as bad as it could have been.’
The youngster stayed in hospital for three weeks to receive medication when doctors revealed the stroke was brought on by chickenpox she’d had 18 months ago.
The mum admits she’s grateful she took Ottilie to the hospital as quickly as she did as she’s now making a smooth recovery with regular medication.
‘I’m very grateful I took her to the hospital and got her checked out.
‘Her eyesight is still affected. It’s gradually made improvements but we’ve never known at what point it could potentially stop improving or if it will fully improve.
‘She’s still got double vision when she looks out to the right. Now she copes by moving her head a lot more to counteract it.
Stroke symptoms are commonly remembered under this four-letter acronym, FAST. Patients experiencing a stroke can often have their face drop on one side, struggle to lift both arms and have slurred speech, while time is essential, as immediate treatment for a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or minor stroke can substantially slash the risk of a much deadlier major stroke
Other tell-tale signs of a stroke are less well-known. These include a numbness on one side of the body, vertigo and difficulty swallowing, all of which appear suddenly
‘Doctors said children’s brains can just sort of rewire, which is how she’s made a really amazing improvement in a matter of weeks. If it was an adult it wouldn’t quite be the same.’
Holly is now encouraging parents to ‘follow their gut’ and get their children checked out if they start suffering unusual symptoms.
She also wants to spread awareness of the ‘BE FAST’ NHS campaign, which stands for ‘balance, eyes, face, arms, speech and time’ that hopes to diagnose and treat stroke patients quicker.
‘My advice would be to follow your gut. When I saw that her eyes weren’t working in unison I thought something wasn’t right, so I went to seek help.
‘As parents we always want to help our children but sometimes life is busy and there are waiting lists for A&E.
‘Never let that deter you. The doctors are the professionals, seek their help.’
