Young Mom Strokes on the Soccer Field (pkg)

Health & Wellness

Young Mom Strokes on the Soccer Field (pkg)

By
Dana Sparks

June 4, 2013

More than 800,000 Americans suffer from stroke every year, but most people don’t expect to have a stroke at a young age. So, when 33-year-old Jessica Cook became dizzy, nauseous and had trouble standing at her son’s soccer game, nobody recognized the signs as a possible stroke. Friends thought she was overheated or dehydrated. Thankfully, someone called 911 — a decision that saved her life. Once at Mayo Clinic in Florida, doctors identified a torn vertebral artery in her neck and determined it had caused the stroke. Interventional neurosurgeon Dr. Ricardo Hanel and his team rushed Jessica to surgery. Without it, she had a 90 percent chance of dying. Because of a prompt diagnosis and quick medical attention, this mother of three is back juggling work, home life and her children’s schedules.