Local Girl Recovers from Devastating Stroke
By: Charlotte Ames
Updated: May 31, 2012
Nearly 30% of people who suffer a stroke are under 65. Strokes and similar brain disorders are among the top ten causes of death in American children. That probably comes as no surprise to 16-year-old Alisa Barnes of Altoona who had a stroke at the age of 9.
She says, "I don't really remember much before my stroke, but after my life changed in the blink of an eye." Her father Michael remembers finding her lying limp with her eyes unfocused on the floor of a local candy store. That was just the beginning of a long journey back.
Her dad Michael says doctors didn't realize she'd had a stroke and it wasn't diagnosed until she was flown to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. "It was tough because she couldn't walk she couldn't talk she couldn't do anything for herself. "It was like taking care of a newborn baby all over again," he remembers.
Doctors weren't sure how much of her abilities she would regain. Michael says,"you never knew what was going to come back. Was she going to walk first was she going to talk first?"
Alisa, says, "I felt like a baby, trying to learn everything again." But she persevered. Now, she's walks with a limp, but on her own. And since she can't use her right hand , she excels with her left. She says proudly, I had to write all over again, but I can write better than half of my friends now." She's an honor student and is also learning to drive.
Dr Joseph Clark's of Blair Medical Associates, has been Alisa's neurologist since 2010. He says she's an inspiring and remarkable young lady. "You can't let it limit you and she hasn't let it limit her and that's a testament to her character," he says.
"I think on the bright side and if I'm sad all the time where's my life going to go?", Alisa says with a smile. And her dad adds, "to see a miracle you have to be around somebody who's been through it and to me she's a true miracle."
Dr Clark says Alisa should be okay as long as she continues to take aspirin the rest of her life. He says doctors have never figured out why she had a stroke.
She says, "I don't really remember much before my stroke, but after my life changed in the blink of an eye." Her father Michael remembers finding her lying limp with her eyes unfocused on the floor of a local candy store. That was just the beginning of a long journey back.
Her dad Michael says doctors didn't realize she'd had a stroke and it wasn't diagnosed until she was flown to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. "It was tough because she couldn't walk she couldn't talk she couldn't do anything for herself. "It was like taking care of a newborn baby all over again," he remembers.
Doctors weren't sure how much of her abilities she would regain. Michael says,"you never knew what was going to come back. Was she going to walk first was she going to talk first?"
Alisa, says, "I felt like a baby, trying to learn everything again." But she persevered. Now, she's walks with a limp, but on her own. And since she can't use her right hand , she excels with her left. She says proudly, I had to write all over again, but I can write better than half of my friends now." She's an honor student and is also learning to drive.
Dr Joseph Clark's of Blair Medical Associates, has been Alisa's neurologist since 2010. He says she's an inspiring and remarkable young lady. "You can't let it limit you and she hasn't let it limit her and that's a testament to her character," he says.
"I think on the bright side and if I'm sad all the time where's my life going to go?", Alisa says with a smile. And her dad adds, "to see a miracle you have to be around somebody who's been through it and to me she's a true miracle."
Dr Clark says Alisa should be okay as long as she continues to take aspirin the rest of her life. He says doctors have never figured out why she had a stroke.
