'Never in a million years did we think our baby could have a stroke'

A parent from Londonderry has spoken of her daze aft her newborn babe had a stroke, describing it arsenic an "overwhelming and scary" clip for their family.

Anna was calved successful June 2023 by exigency Caesarean conception (C-section) and seemed to beryllium healthy, but aft a fewer days, her parent Lauren Duncan began to announcement her making "strange repeated rhythmical movements".

“Never successful a cardinal years did I deliberation a babe could person a stroke," Lauren told BBC News NI.

“Everything was a blur astatine that clip and we didn't truly cognize however to process it,” she said.

Anna was transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), wherever she was tested and monitored.

After a week, doctors carried retired a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of Anna’s brain, which showed signs of a perinatal changeable - which is simply a changeable that either happens successful the womb oregon arsenic a newborn.

“Once the changeable was detected, everything was truthful fast-paced we went from knowing thing to knowing excessively overmuch successful the abstraction of a fewer minutes," Lauren told BBC Radio Foyle.

"We were fixed an endless database of likelihoods for Anna’s improvement and that they weren't going to beryllium straightforward," she said.

“One of the archetypal things we were told was that she whitethorn not smile, she whitethorn not speech , she whitethorn not walk, she mightiness not person immoderate understanding.

"As a genitor that was horrendous and the archetypal fewer weeks waiting for her to grin were truly acheronian and truly hard to process.

“We yet did get that grin and it was the champion time ever," she added.

Anna's parent said she believed that aboriginal involution had been "life-changing" for her development.

“She has been going to occupational therapy, code therapy and physiotherapy since she was astir 4 weeks old.

“We observe each win, she is simply a occurrence and brings truthful overmuch joyousness to everyone who meets her," she told Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

Lauren and Craig said they contacted the Stroke Association’s Childhood Support Team and accidental they are incredibly grateful for their help.

“The woman connected the telephone listened to maine for hours and provided our full household with enactment and guidance. I volition beryllium everlastingly grateful for this call,” said Lauren.

Lauren and Craig besides received adjacent enactment from different mum connected the "same journey" arsenic them.

"She provided america with truthful overmuch anticipation that our aboriginal would beryllium brighter and happier times would come," Lauren said.

"She is simply a person that I ne'er knew I needed and successful crook I tin walk connected her proposal to much parents and caregivers,” she added.

Alasdair O’Hara, Northern Ireland Director astatine the Stroke Association, said: “Connecting with others affected by changeable is often the astir important happening successful helping to recover.

"Sharing your experiences tin assistance you recognize changeable and larn caller ways to cope."

Mr O'Hara added that each twelvemonth much than 4,000 radical successful Northern Ireland look the "devastating world of having had a stroke".

The foundation supports survivors and their loved ones and helps link people.

"From the infinitesimal they participate the caller and frightening post-stroke world, we’re present to assistance survivors find their spot and their mode backmost to life."

A changeable cuts disconnected humor proviso to parts of the brain, sidesplitting immoderate cells.

They are communal and tin impact radical of each ages, but galore patients past if they person punctual treatment.

All strokes are different, depending connected the portion of the encephalon that is damaged.

For immoderate people, the effects whitethorn beryllium comparatively insignificant and whitethorn not past long, portion others whitethorn beryllium near with much superior semipermanent problems.

If you fishy that you oregon idiosyncratic other are having a stroke, telephone exigency services - 999 successful the UK - instantly and inquire for an ambulance.

The main symptoms of changeable tin beryllium remembered with the connection FAST:

Face - drooping

Arms - incapable to assistance some and support them there.

Speech - slurred, garbled oregon unresponsive

Time - dial 999 immediately