Young stroke survivor speaks on importance of noticing early warning signs
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A stroke at 21-years old is how one local woman brought in her big day. It’s not something you hear about often, but medical experts say, it’s not all that uncommon.
Kaitlin Holton was getting ready to celebrate her 21st birthday, a day early, over dinner with friends. Instead, she landed at Fransicscan Health’s emergency room. It’s not where she wanted to spend her day, but she’s grateful, none the less.
“The night before my 21st birthday, I was actually getting ready to go out with a friend. I realized that my whole left arm had gone completely numb,” said Holton.
That was her first warning. Holton blew it off.
“(I) got to dinner, looked into the mirror to check my makeup, realized that my whole left mouth was drooped over. I went to call my friend and say, ‘Hey-I’m here,’ and couldn’t put my words together,” she described.
Symptoms of a stroke; Holton knew them very well. Her mom was a nurse. But, the symptoms went away. So, Holton blew them off a second time. The next day, before her birthday dinner with her mom and the rest of her family, Holton filled in her mom.
“She went completely white in the face and said we have to get to the ER right now because we think you might’ve had a stroke,” Holton said. She continued, “Even then, I was trying to blow it off and say, can we just go tomorrow. I want to do my birthday celebration. Then she was very adamant about going.”
A relatively healthy girl, spending her 21st birthday in the ER. After an MRI and CT, doctors confirmed what Holton already knew; she had a stroke. It all stemmed from a heart condition called Patent Foreman Ovale, or PFO, a birth defect that causes holes in the heart.
“PFO is a congenital anomaly. It happens just because there is an abnormal connection in the top two chambers of the heart that should close on the first day of birth,” said Franciscan Cardiologist Dr. Abdelkader Almanfi.
According Dr. Almanfi, in a non-invasive surgery, a device was used to essentially plug the holes in Holton’s heart. He says PFO is fairly common; about 25 percent of the population have it.
“People with PFO, they are prone more than the general population, to have a stroke, not because PFO by itself causes a stroke, but it puts them risk,” said Dr. Almanfi.
PFO is not preventable, Dr. Almanfi said. He recommends that people monitor their health closely and if you experience numbness, weakness and/or speech disturbance, contact your doctor immediately. In Holton’s case, had she not gone to the ER, Dr. Almanfi says she likely would’ve suffered a more severe stroke, which could’ve caused permanent damage.
“I knew the symptoms, but I was in complete denial. I was like, ‘I’m 21 years old. There’s no way I could’ve possibly had a stroke,’” said Holton.
Dr. Almanfi expects Holton to make a full recovery. Holton says she feels great and is not longer on medication. She’s looking forward to celebrating her rebirth, six months later, and hopefully, not at the ER.