In a crazy coincidence, all four girls are graduating seniors in the Kansas City area, and they all had a stroke within a two-year span.
No one expects a teenager to have a stroke, but it happened to all four of these Kansas high schoolers.
Abby Anderson, Blake Ephraim, Madeline Mudd, and Molly Ogden all live in the Kansas City area, and they all had a stroke within a span of two years, according to the American Heart Association. These were massive strokes requiring surgery to remove a part of the skull, and three of the four girls were placed in medically induced comas.
It’s a crazy coincidence, but these incidents weren’t related. Each girl has a unique and special story of her experience.
Blake was 16 and a competitive cheerleader when she had her stroke. It started with an earache, then a headache and nausea. After she powered through a cheer competition, her parents found her moaning in pain in her bed. They rushed her to the hospital where doctors found a clot and bleeding in her brain.
Madeline was also 16 when she had a headache while ice skating one morning, then started vomiting and seizing in the locker room. Doctors found a ruptured aneurysm in her brain.
Molly was also 16 and performing in a powder puff football game when she landed on her shoulders and neck. She miraculously got up, but the next morning her mom found her on the bathroom floor exhibiting the symptoms of a stroke. Doctors found that she fractured a tiny bone in her neck, which caused a tear in her carotid artery. She also had a clotting disorder.
Abby was 14 when she passed out right after running a mile in PE class. She also suffered a torn carotid artery, which led to her stroke.
The girls didn’t know each other before the strokes, but they’ve since formed a pretty incredible bond.
Some of them knew of each other through rehab and stroke survivor events, and then Blake’s mom found a way to get all of them together. They had dinner, a sleepover, and finally got to share their stories with people who truly got it.
“Well, okay, it was kinda weird how we met, you know, just us all having an aneurysm or stroke, and like, that just doesn’t happen,” says Abby. “But because of it, I’ve found three best friends for life. And I can go to them for anything and just know they’re always there for me.”
All four girls have made astonishing recoveries, and they’re all graduating high school this month.
Strokes can happen to anyone. Here’s what you need to know about them.
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A stroke is when a blood vessel is either blocked by a clot or bursts, which prevents blood and oxygen from getting to the brain, according to the American Heart Association.
“We often think of stroke as only affecting the elderly or older adults,” Dr. Ralph Sacco, chairman of neurology at the Miller School of Medicine at University of Miami, tells BuzzFeed Life. “But we always want to remind people that stroke can happen to anyone at any time. It’s obviously less frequent in young people — including teenage girls — but it can occur.”
Your risk of stroke is higher if you’re over 55, you have a family history of stroke or heart disease, you’re female, you’re African American, or you’ve had a prior stroke or heart attack. But there are also many other factors that can increase your risk of stroke, like high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, high blood cholesterol, poor diet, inactivity, obesity, heart disease, sickle cell disease, and others. See a full list of risk factors here.
Here are the signs and symptoms of strokes that you should watch out for in yourself and others.
The AHA suggests the acronym FAST to remember:
Face Drooping: If one side of the face is crooked, drooping, or numb. This might be more visible if you ask someone to smile. Arm Weakness: If either arm is weak or numb. Speech Difficulty: If the person has slurred speech, trouble speaking, or trouble understanding speech. Time To Call 911: If you notice any of the above signs, call 911 immediately.
Other possible symptoms include sudden severe headaches, numbness, tingling on one side of the body, sudden difficulty walking, and loss of balance.
“Many people with strokes make great recoveries. We’re trying to get the word out that stroke is beatable, treatable, and preventable,” says Sacco. “But what’s most important is time. Getting more urgent attention means a better chance of recovery.”
For more on this story, you can watch the full video from the American Heart Association here.
