At 26, elementary school music teacher had a stroke between classes

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Christina Saldivar felt well-rested and energetic when she headed to her elementary school in Newport News, Virginia, 在2020年2月的一个周一早上. At 26, she was enjoying her first year of teaching music at the same campus instead of bouncing around as an itinerant teacher.

The morning opened with back-to-back classes to second and first graders. Using simple instruments like recorders and rhythm sticks, she taught the children tone and rhythm.

接下来，她带着幼儿园的孩子去健身房跳舞. 首先，她要去洗手间.

在马厩里, she felt overcome by a headache so powerful that it felt like someone was hammering against the front of her skull.

接着一阵恶心和头晕袭来. 她想吐，但吐不出来.

等她醒过来，她就躺在小隔间的地板上了. The germaphobe in her wanted to jump up, but she lacked the energy.

From her smartwatch, she called one of the physical education teachers. “你能把我的班级带到健身房吗??她问. “我想我要迟到了. 我感觉不太舒服."

“要我叫护士来吗??体育老师问.

"No, no. 我很好，”萨尔迪瓦回答. As she spoke, the hammering blows began spreading across her entire head.

"Wait, yes, go ahead and send the nurse," she said into her watch before blacking out a second time.

她接下来的记忆很模糊. 一个学校管理员和护士在谈论她. 在救护车里. 在急诊室醒来.

Meanwhile, 学校工作人员打电话给萨尔迪瓦的伴侣, Brean Hicks-Bailey, 和萨尔迪瓦的母亲, 凯瑟琳Saldivar. 希克斯-贝利从汉普顿的家中来到了学校, Virginia, 就在萨尔迪瓦上了救护车的时候. 他开车去了医院，她妈妈在那里接了他.

“我们不知道会发生什么，”希克斯-贝利说. “这太令人困惑了."

A doctor later explained that Saldivar had a ruptured brain aneurysm. 本质上，她大脑里的血管破裂了. This sent blood into the surrounding area, causing what's called a hemorrhagic stroke.

就在他们消化这个噩耗的时候, the doctor said Saldivar needed to undergo a procedure to stop the blood from flowing into the damaged area. 萨尔迪瓦接受了一种叫做盘绕术的治疗. Coiling closes off the blood flow into the aneurysm by packing it tightly with detachable platinum coils. It is performed through a catheter from the groin extending to the brain.

恢复通常需要几天线上电子游戏飞禽走兽. But Saldivar was in the hospital for two weeks because her headaches continued. Doctors readjusted the coiling, then monitored her for several more days.

Saldivar went home with virtually no physical or cognitive deficits. 她回到家也很困惑:为什么这种事会发生在她身上?

In the hospital, her ongoing headaches kept her from using her phone or computer. 一回到家，她觉得自己有足够的力量去研究这一切.

很快，她就有了足够的线上电子游戏飞禽走兽来做这件事. She was released in early March 2020, days before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

在阅读了中风和动脉瘤之后， 萨尔迪瓦意识到自己是多么幸运 事情就这样结束了.

“我听说过F.A.S.T. 但我并没有真正注意到," she said, referring to the acronym to help people remember the signs of a stroke: Face drooping, 手臂无力或说话困难意味着是时候拨打911了. "And I definitely didn't know someone my age could have a stroke."

它发生的原因仍然是个谜. 她的神经科医生找不到任何解释. 唉，医生们现在正在监测另一个较小的动脉瘤. She may need the same procedure done to prevent this bubble from bursting.

作为一个年轻坚强的幸存者, Saldivar struggled to find others who could understand what she's been through and the aftermath. 在线支持团体提供了帮助. 她的猫黄油也是如此.

“我从医院一回家, 他开始依偎在我身边，一直陪在我身边," she said. “他帮助我控制压力水平，我正努力控制压力水平."

去年，萨尔迪瓦怀孕了. 由于中风，她被认为是高危人群. While she delivered prematurely at 36 weeks, that was due to an unrelated cause. 更重要的是，她有一个健康的儿子，名叫小布莱恩.

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