Lynn Sah
11-Year-Old Stroke Survivor Shares Her Story
Lynn-sah Joseph is a bright and talkative 11-year-old with big dreams of becoming a neurologist, thanks to the physician who saved her life.
Lynn-sah was at school when she started feeling dizzy. The sixth-grader went home early with a headache, thinking she just needed some rest. Her mother, Edgire, noticed something was wrong. Lynn-sah couldn’t move her left side. “That’s it,” Edgire said. “We’re going to the hospital.” As Edgire dialed 9-1-1, she was saving her daughter’s life because Lynn-sah was having a stroke. Although rare for kids, pediatric stroke is one of the top 10 causes of death among children.
By the time she arrived to Broward Health Medical Center, she was completely paralyzed on her left side. A CT scan showed a blood clot in the middle of her brain and she was immediately rushed into surgery. As scary as that day was, Edgire and her husband, Roobens, were grateful that their daughter was in the care of interventional neurologist Celso Agner, MD, who performed the surgery.
“I am so thankful that Dr. Agner was willing to do whatever he had to do to save my daughter’s life,” Edgire said.
Dr. Agner performed the surgery using a stent retriever, a mesh-like device that is guided through a major artery to trap the blood clot.
“There are not a lot of treatment options for young stroke patients, especially someone of Lynn-sah’s age,” Dr. Agner said. “This could have been one of my own children so I had to think outside the box.”
Six days after surgery, Lynn-sah’s neurological tests came back normal, except for some residual weakness in her left arm. During recovery, she used a walker, but soon after she was able to walk on her own. Lynn-sah’s determination aided in her swift recovery and six weeks later, she was ready to go back to school.
“I feel great!” Lynn-sah said. “I feel back the way I used to be.”
To learn more about Stroke Care at Broward Health, click below.