CUDAHY -- A high school senior hopes her story of surviving a stroke, will save someone else's life.
Eighteen-year-old Hannah Drummond allowed TODAY'S TMJ4 to join her during rehabilitation at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center.
"It's kind of weird to think last Monday this all happened," said Hannah Drummond.
Hannah says she was walking outside during gym class when she began to notice a tingle going down her left side, "So I tried to keep walking, but it was hard to keep walking. So I had to do that like, 'whoa' brace myself."
Then she began to have tunnel vision, "I was like oh my gosh, I think I'm having a stroke!"
When her mother took her to Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center, doctors performed a CT scan. They discovered she had a stroke.
"It's just something you don't think is ever going to happen to someone in your family let alone your 18 year old daughter," said Melissa Wittliff, Hannah's mother.
"You're not too young," Hannah warns, "I'm 18, this happened to me!"
If you think you're having a stroke doctors want you to BE FAST :
- 'B' stands for checking your balance or leaning for one side.
- 'E' stands for eyes. Check if you have a loss of vision or double vision.
- 'F' stands for face. Is one side or the other drooping?
- 'A' stands for arms. Can you hold both up at the same time?
- 'S' stands for speech.
- 'T' is for terrible headache.
"You have a sudden onset worst headache of your life this could be a sign of a bleeding stroke and you need to call 911 right away," said Sarah Eilers, Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center Nurse Practitioner.
Hannah hopes to be back on the softball field soon.
The Wisconsin Department of Health reports there were 11,000 stroke-related hospitalizations in our state, in 2017. Seven out of ten patients were over 65 years old.
We also learned Hannah was released from the hospital and is now recovering at home. You can donate to her GoFundMe page here.
