January 27, 2024 started as a regular Saturday for seven-year-old Billie Tranby-White. She spent the morning swimming and going for a bike ride with her mother, Grace, and twin sister, Lola, but on the car ride home, things took a turn.
"Billie was complaining of a headache, and I could see in the rearview mirror that her face had drooped, her speech was slurred and she was slumped in her seat," Grace said.
Grace immediately called an ambulance. Billie was taken to Newcastle Hospital where a scan confirmed she had stroke. The seven-year-old was placed in a coma and flown to Sydney Children's Hospital.
"It was surreal and horrific. I was just shocked; I didn't know kids could have strokes," Grace said.
A week later, Billie was brought out of her coma. She was unable to talk and the left side of her body was paralysed. After three months of intense rehabilitation learning to walk again, Billie took her first steps. It was a moment her mother will never forget.
"It was the best. We had no idea she was going to progress so when she took those steps we were so proud," Grace added.
Two years on after her stroke, Billie still lives with weakness, known as hemiplegia, on the left side of her body but she does not let anything hold her back. Now 9 years old, Billie is thriving in Grade 3 at school, plays tennis and enjoys swimming.
"I'm super proud of her. Billie is a little ray of sunshine, she loves life and it doesn't stop her from doing the things she loves," Grace said.
Childhood stroke is among the ten leading causes of death in children and, every year, around 120 babies and 400 children, like Billie, have a stroke. Around half of all survivors will go on to experience some degree of long-term impairment.
Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Dr Lisa Murphy, says most Australians do not know that babies and children can have strokes.
"Stroke doesn't discriminate- it affects people of all ages, including the youngest and most vulnerable members of our community. The best thing parents can do is be aware and learn to recognise the symptoms and signs of stroke."
As part of Childhood Stroke Awareness Week (March 2-8), Stroke Foundation is urging Aussie families and health professionals to arm themselves with important information on how stroke impacts infants and children.
"Stroke presents itself in many different ways in children, but symptoms can include seizures and extreme sleepiness (in babies), and, in older children, weakness or numbness in the face, arm or leg, difficulty talking or swallowing, dizziness, and severe or unusual headaches," Dr Murphy said.
