It Took 14 Days After A Life-Threatening Stroke For This Young New Hampshire Mother To Regain Her Speech
Hollis, New Hampshire. “I love you, Lev,” the words were finally spoken by Mollie Vigeant to her toddler son 14 days after a life-changing, severe stroke, leaving her unable to speak, swallow, sit up or eat without the aid of a feeding tube.
On October 23rd Mollie suffered an unknown amount of brain damage from a clot, causing a lack of oxygen to her brain cells. The entire right side of her body had very little mobility. It was a scary situation for her and her family.
Strokes are the number five cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. It’s hard to believe a young, vibrant mother and wife would be in such a life-threatening situation without any prior warning.
Although her doctors successfully removed the clot, restoring blood flow to Mollie’s brain, the blood flow was restricted for several hours causing damage. Her medical team continued to assess her condition and were without any clues to the cause of Mollie’s clot and the extent of damage it caused.
After five days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Mollie’s progress showed hope as she was able to sit up and even stand with assistance. Although the struggle was far from over, she managed to smile at her husband, Adam.
Adam had been spending as much time as possible at Mollie’s bedside while he juggled time at the hospital and time with their son at a relative’s home nearby.
On the 6th day, Mollie was able to walk a few steps with assistance from her medical team. On the 7th day, Mollie was progressing, slowly but surely.
GoFundMe; pictured above is Mollie with her family
She was able to swallow on her own, although her feeding tube stayed in place.
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Two days later, Mollie moved into a Critical Care Unit, which is a step down below Intensive Care. Not in the clear by far, but improving day by day, her feeding tube was removed, allowing her to eat on her own.
Doctors were still working hard to determine the source of the blood clot but still had no answers. However, they needed to find out as soon as possible because there was more at stake than just Mollie’s life.
Mollie was 12 weeks pregnant with her 2nd child. She and Adam hadn’t made the incredible news public as it was still very early in her pregnancy. Can you imagine the additional stress and worry this news brought to the situation?
It was a relief Mollie and Adam knew they were expecting a child before the stroke. The Obstetric (OB) staff has been a part of her medical team and continues monitoring the pregnancy closely with no current issues.
On the 12th day of her hospital stay, she was finally able to cuddle with her son, Lev. Only a few days before, she was in an uncertain place.
Although the future is still uncertain, her progress shows a tremendous amount of determination and personal as well as medical support.
She was recently discharged from a rehab facility where she was recovering, receiving speech, physical, and occupational therapy. It will be a long road to full recovery, but there is great hope and encouragement.
If you would like to donate to the GoFundMe page created to help Mollie, you can do that here.
More About:Human Interest
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