A four-year-old British boy was left paralysed after a rare complication of chickenpox led to him suffer from a stroke.
Freddie Rushton collapsed at his family home at Stoke-on-Trent in England’s north, in May last year, 11 months after having common childhood chickenpox.
The youngster was left unable to stand or speak, and medics warned his parents he may never walk again.
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Mum Sarah Kilgariff, 43, said she spotted the first signs of a stroke after he woke up unsteady on his feet on May 9 last year, despite being in good health when he went to bed the previous night.
He rolled off his parents’ bed after suddenly losing the use of his left side and hit the wardrobe as he fell.
At first, his alarmed mother thought it was an ear infection before rushing him to the Royal Stoke University Hospital, where doctors confirmed he’d suffered a stroke.
An MRI scan discovered it was caused by a restriction of blood vessels and a lumber puncture brought on by chickenpox, with which Freddie had been sick the previous year.
“Freddie had had chickenpox 11 months earlier, but we never thought it could cause this,” Sarah said.
“The virus had actually caused the restriction of blood in the vessels in his brain, which led to the stroke.”
Chickenpox brings an increased risk of strokes in children, only usually within the first six months of contracting the virus.
Doctors said the youngster had a 50/50 chance of walking again, and he has also had to learn how to eat and swallow once more.
The now five-year-old’s movement has improved but he still suffers with speech and will be on aspirin for the rest of his life to keep his blood thin.
“We’ve had to go back to A&E multiple times with Freddie,” Sarah, who runs a topsoil company with Freddie’s dad Rob, said.
“Every day we don’t know what’s coming, it makes you feel paranoid if he gets a headache or seems a little bit more unstable or behaves differently than usual.
“We just have to take each day as it comes.
“Now we feel like we’re grieving for the child we thought we would see grow up and we both suffer from the trauma of what happened to Freddie.
“We are grieving for the life that we pictured for him but that we just don’t think he will have.”
Now Freddie and his family are trying to raise awareness of strokes in children.
He and his family helped launch the Stroke Association’s Garden for Recovery at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show alongside musician and TV presenter Myleene Klass.
The garden’s designer Miria Harris survived a stroke in 2019, which left her with aphasia, affecting her ability to speak and form words properly.
“Stroke can change your life profoundly. It did mine. It is definitely not as simple as just getting better,” Miria said.
“There are many bumps in the road and recovery is not linear. But with support, there’s hope.
“I wanted to design an immersive, calm and optimistic space to support stroke survivors of all ages and needs.
“Somewhere for visitors to gently move around, to take time to stop, rest and reflect. It’s a place to be alone or connect with loved ones.
“After the disconnecting experience of stroke, the reconnection with people I love and with nature has been hugely important,” she said.
“My story and the stories that I have learned from speaking to other survivors have been the inspiration for this garden.
“They have shaped the garden’s themes and have directly influenced the material choices I have made in the design.”
Chief executive of the Stroke Association Juliet Bouverie said: “We are thrilled to have the honour of presenting a show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 and we hope it will be an extraordinary occasion for Freddie, Sarah and family too.”