Victoria's victory against a stroke

When you have a stroke as a teenager, a lot of things change.

Victoria Purcell, 15, remembers coaching young "Mighty Mites" cheerleaders, cheerleading herself and enjoying soccer. She remembers wanting to grow up to be a dolphin trainer.

"That's never going to happen," she said softly, in tears.

Memories

But she also remembers a hospital room "filled with everything a 'stroke child' would want": stuffed animals, cards, flowers and notes of encouragement from family, friends, and parishioners of St. Helen's Church in Niskayuna and St. John the Evangelist in Schenectady, where her family attends Mass.

She remembers writing poetry about her struggle to recover, and seeing one of her poems appear in several publications. She remembers learning to paint and winning third place in a Schenectady Stockade-area art contest.

Her family hopes that the challenges she faces will continue to be balanced by successes.

Diagnosis

Victoria was in fifth grade when she hit her head while snow-tubing and had a CAT scan "just to be safe." Her family had no idea that scan would reveal an unrelated problem with pressure on her optic nerve that eventually required two brain surgeries.

In 2005, during the second operation, Victoria had a stroke. She awoke to find herself paralyzed on the right side and unable to speak.

When her family explained what had happened, she just stared at them, emotionless from the shock. In fact, a neurologist warned her parents that she might never speak again.

Recovery

Not long afterward, Victoria said her first word: "Ma." That was the beginning of a long and painful recovery process that's far from over.

After a month in a New York City children's hospital, Victoria was transferred to Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady, where she spent another two months getting speech, occupational and physical therapy -- basically, re-learning how to walk, talk and get through everyday tasks.

At first, even swallowing was difficult. A stroke interferes with connections that help the body do what the brain tells it to, said Victoria's mother, Patty, so "the body has to 'build tracks' again."

Victoria doesn't remember all of those days, another side-effect of the stroke. She does, however, remember the first time she was able to eat and drink: "Water tasted so good!"

Losses

Even when she came home, Victoria had a long road ahead. She said she "basically lived in the Wellness Center" at Sunnyview, spending her days doing therapy, weight training, and other exercises to rebuild her body and mind.

School came second. She missed a half-year entirely, then went back part-time with an aide. Only this year has she been able to attend Niskayuna High School full-time. But the stroke hit the part of the brain that handles academics, so she struggles in class.

Some friendships have also gone by the wayside. Victoria's best friend, Amanda, moved away during her recovery, and she said other friends couldn't see that "I'm still the same old Victoria" inside.

If anything, she said, that's what she'd like people to know about her experience: how much a friend in trouble needs support.

Progressing

Victoria looks back on tremendous progress. She has a limp but walks without crutches; her right hand is still paralyzed, but she has learned to use her left and does daily therapy to improve her right hand's dexterity.

Ironically, the same stroke that burdens her academically has given her creative side a boost: Victoria is working toward her Gold Award in the Girl Scouts (equivalent to an Eagle Scout rank for boys), wrote a poem about her illness that just appeared in "Stroke Smart" magazine and plans to continue her newfound passion -- painting.

"It's so free, so relaxing," she said.

Rising again

One line of her poem, "Victoria's Rise," reads: "I am confident inside, though I don't show it yet."

Victoria said that "the fact that I can succeed in something" keeps her spirits up and joked that as soon as she's ready to display her confidence to the world, "I'll be sure to let everybody know."

One person has already experienced that confidence: Victoria told The Evangelist, "Mention that 'she does have a boyfriend,' because that is quite an accomplishment for me!"

(11/9/06) [[In-content Ad]]