Mum's warning as son, 11, suffers massive stroke after playing with friends

A mum has praised her brave 11-year-old son who was left partially paralysed after suffering two massive strokes.

Marli Brown, from the East Midlands, was left unable to walk and paralysed down one side of his body.

He was found by mum Carrie Magee collapsed on the bathroom floor after returning from playing outside with friends and was rushed to hospital for treatment.

Doctors at Birmingham Children's Hospital told the youngster and his mum how he had lost 80 per cent of his right side brain function.

Miss Magee, 32, told DerbyshireLive : "It's something that happened out of the blue. Something that you just don't ever expect to happen.

"On February 18 it was the second day of half term and everything was normal.

"He ate his breakfast and dinner and then he asked if he could go out with his friends on his bike.

"It started to rain so he came home early and he was soaked.

"He said he had a headache and he was going to be sick.

"I could hear him crying upstairs so I ran up and he was collapsed on the bathroom floor.

"As a mum I knew something wasn't right.

"His face had dropped like what you see on the stroke adverts on television.

"The thought crossed my mind and then it went out again straight away because I thought he is too young to have a stroke.

"I screamed for my partner and he rang 999."

Miss Magee, who lives in Horninglow, Staffordshire, with Marli and his sister Elle, who is five, said Marli sat up and was telling her he was fine, that he had fallen over.

He got up and walked downstairs, where she found him 'slumped' on the sofa.

She said: "He kept telling me there was nothing wrong. But when he got on the sofa I noticed he was slumped like he was sliding off it.

"As soon as we got him in the ambulance he started having a fit, he was thrashing around and being sick.

"The paramedic said don't be alarmed but when we get to hospital there will be a lot of people around him.

"He couldn't control his right side and it took three men to hold him down to get the cannula in, it was horrible.

"Marli had a CT scan which showed he had a blood clot on the brain."

Miss Magee said doctors told her that it looked like Marli had suffered a stroke.

"Me and my mum looked at each other thinking, that can't be right, he is 11.

"It wouldn't sink in.

"I didn't understand what they were telling me.

"He was put on medication to thin his blood and then his blood pressure was fine. By that night he was walking and talking and we thought it must've been a mini stroke."

The following day Marli seemed more like himself and was eating breakfast and asking to watch the television, when doctors took him for an MRI scan.

Miss Magee, who is a teaching assistant, said: "We couldn't go in with him and he managed 45 minutes on his own before he pressed the panic button.

"He was so distressed when he came out he didn't make it back to his bed, he had a massive stroke.

"It took the whole of his left side. It was completely paralysed.

"He was in Burton hospital for nine days and all he did was lay in bed and sleep, he couldn't eat or drink.

"They had to feed him using a tube and doctors said it was best for him to just sleep.

"That was a really rough time because he was so poorly, a lot of nurses were a bit wary as they had never treated a child before for a stroke.

"They kept checking his pulse which put me on edge."

Marli was transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Ms Magee said: "He had a CT scan on his head which confirmed he had had blood clot on the brain and narrowing in his aortic valve.

"They said they would need to operate ASAP but they didn't know if he was fit and well enough to cope with the surgery.

"On March 13 they fitted a stent during a three-hour operation.

"He came back and he was talking happily and asking for food."

Marli was making progress with his recovery when coronavirus stopped the physiotherapy he needed to strengthen his muscles after his strokes.

Luckily, his family were able to secure a place at a children's trust in Surrey.

Miss Magee, said: "He went in unable to walk, he could barely stand.

"He had six weeks of intense physio, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and the whole time he was telling me he was going to be okay.

"He was so determined.

"As a mum I wanted to agree with him but deep down we didn't know if he would walk again.

"I never thought the day would happen when he would be coming home.

"The staff at the centre were amazing.

"They expected him to be in hospital for two more months at least but he only did six weeks. I'm so proud of him."

On May 13, 12 weeks after suffering his massive stroke, Marli had recovered enough to rang the bell on the hospital ward, marking the end of his treatment and is now settling back in at home.

He can now walk with help, said his mum.

She said: "It's not the end. We need to exercise with him at home and keep an eye on things but we're so happy he's here with us.

"We're still unsure of the cause which is quite scary but I'm so glad that it rained and he came back early because otherwise it might have happened while he was on his bike.

"I'm just thankful he is still here because it could've been a lot worse."

Miss Magee said she has learned so much about strokes since Marli became ill.

She cannot believe how many children suffer then as they are traditionally thought to only happen to older people.

She said: "I was amazed by how many children have strokes, so if you do see these signs act quickly.

"Marli's personality has changed since this but the doctors say that is normal.

"He is still Marli and I'm so proud of him.

"He's been so brave."