Boy, 6, suffers life-threatening stroke that causes paralysis: 'Rare complication'

Christmas Eve is usually an evening of fun and festivity — but for one Illinois family in 2023, it came with a life-threatening medical emergency.

After enjoying a few holiday traditions, the Patton family had just sat down at the dinner table when Preston Patton, who was 6 years old at the time, suddenly slid onto the floor.

"He just fell off the chair and was limp," recalled Shawn Patton, Preston’s father, according to a press release from OSF HealthCare. "I didn’t think it was a stroke, but I just knew something was wrong."

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Patton immediately called 911 and first responders rushed his son to OSF HealthCare.

At the hospital, a team of emergency and pediatric doctors assessed the situation. A brain scan revealed that Preston had a blood clot in his brain, and his heart function had dropped to just 10%.

Also known as cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), this condition is rare in children, generally affecting only around one or two in every 100,000 kids and teens, statistics show.

"He had complete paralysis on the left side of his body," said Sourabh Lahoti, M.D., a vascular and interventional neurologist with OSF HealthCare Illinois Neurological Institute, in the release.

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"No movement was possible, and the vision in his left visual field was lost. He could not move his eyes to the left, either," added Lahoti, who led Preston’s care. 

"He had the telltale signs of a stroke affecting the right side of his brain."

The scan showed that the clot was blocking blood flow to the right side of Preston’s brain.

"We had to take that clot out. If we hadn’t, chances are he would have gone on to develop a very big stroke," Lahoti said. 

"This would have not only left him paralyzed potentially for the rest of his life, but it could have been life-threatening."

Doctors performed a procedure called a thrombectomy, in which a small, thin catheter is inserted into a blood vessel to remove the clot from the blocked artery.

Preston is one of the few children in the world to undergo this life-saving intervention, according to the press release.

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By the time the doctors began the procedure, the clot had traveled to a smaller blood vessel, which made it more difficult to remove.

"The further out the clot is, the higher the risk it is to get it out, because we're getting into very tiny blood vessels in the brain," noted Lahoti. "We decided to take that risk and prevent a lifelong disability."

Soon after the clot was removed, the doctors saw a "complete reversal" of Patton’s symptoms. 

It was "truly magical," Dr. Lahoti recalled in the release, particularly after he had arrived at the hospital in a state of complete paralysis.

"After the anesthesia was taken off, he woke up and was able to move his left arm and leg again."

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Before thrombectomy therapy became available, patients didn’t have other options, the doctor noted. 

"The usual course was they were left with paralysis for life, and they were never able to live normally again," said Lahoti.

Doctors now believe that Preston’s stroke was caused by a "rare complication" from a recent flu infection.

"Because of the flu, there was a cross-reaction of the immunity his body built up," Lahoti said. "His immune system attacked the flu virus, but also his kidneys and heart."

"Because of that, his heart pumping got really weak, and we think that led to the formation of a clot in his heart. The clot then traveled from the heart to his brain."

Preston’s father noted that his late wife (mother to Preston and his sister, Carter), had died of a pulmonary embolism, which made the young boy’s medical emergency even more "emotionally challenging."

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After a couple of weeks in the hospital, Preston is now doing well and is enjoying his favorite activities again.

"He goes to OT (occupational therapy) once a week, PT (physical therapy) once a month now," Shawn Patton said in an interview with OSF HealthCare. "He’s getting along pretty good."

"My leg is better," Preston added.

"Yes, your leg is getting better. Your hand is going to get better, too," his father reassured him.

Preston has not yet been able to return to playing baseball, but he has started riding his bike again.

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"It’s hard to hold onto the handlebars and stuff like that. We just got to keep working hard," Shawn Patton noted.

Inspired by his challenge and recovery, Preston has now said he wants to become a nurse, according to the hospital — "because the nurses cared for him so well."