She was rushed into a three-hour surgery where surgeons managed to repair the artery with a stent. However, the clot in her brain could not be cleared completely.
She shared, “I expected to wake up from this miracle surgery and everything would be fixed, but my mobility was worse, and they couldn’t clear the clot.”
Natalie added about the ordeal, “At the start, I couldn’t move my thumb and forefinger. I could kind of move my wrist up and down. I couldn’t lift my arm. I could bend my left leg, but I couldn’t wiggle my toes.”
She went through months of intense rehab, which helped her recover movement in the left side of her body. However, she is still unable to walk for more than five minutes.
She is hoping to raise awareness about strokes, emphasizing that it does not matter if you are young. She said, “Mine was one in a million, but a ruptured vertebral artery is actually quite a common cause of strokes in young people… they will be in the gym or doing something quite physical, and it happens. Strokes are also quite common in kids.”
Natalie is doing a big service to humanity by raising awareness about a little-known issue that could potentially be deadly. Share this article with others, especially active young people, to help raise more awareness.
