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Expectant Mom Suffers Stroke, Husband Recognizes Signs

By Lauren DiSpirito

WINDSOR, Colo. (CBS4)- Hail was falling in Windsor the night Suzannah Preisendorf began suffering from a severe headache, feeling dizzy and numb. It was August 17 and the 26-year-old woman was at home with her husband, Scott. She was more than 40 weeks pregnant and four days past her due date with the couple's first child.

"I stood up, and just, all of sudden... it was like the right side of me didn't exist anymore," Suzannah Preisendorf says.

Scott suspected his wife might be suffering from a stroke, but didn't want to say anything to scare Suzannah. She assumed something might be wrong with the baby. The couple rushed to the Medical Center of the Rockies, in Loveland, where they saw Dr. Brian Kaiser, a neurologist with UC Health at MCR and Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins.

Suzannah Preisendorf
Suzannah Preisendorf (credit: Preisendorf)

In part because of Preisendorf's young age, and the symptoms she was displaying, Kaiser says upon first meeting his patient, he wasn't sure whether she was in the midst of a stroke.

"She was somewhat uncontrollably moving her arm," Kaiser said. "So when I would ask her to move it, she said she couldn't, and then when I asked her why she was moving it, she said, 'Oh, I wasn't trying to do it,' which is not a typical thing that you see in stroke patients."

Kaiser ordered an M.R.I. on Preisendorf's brain, which confirmed Suzannah was suffering from an ischemic stroke, the kind in which oxygen is cut off from the brain. The diagnosis surprised Preisendorf.

The doctor and couple were then faced with a difficult choice, whether to give Preisendorf medicine containing a Tissue plasminogen activator, known as tPA, to break down her clot. Kaiser says most studies on tPA's effects have not included pregnant women. He had never before encountered a case like Preisendorf's.

"I can't find any other cases where they treated somebody at 40 plus weeks (with tPA)," Dr. Kaiser says. "One of my concerns was if I give her this medicine, and she goes into active labor, is she going to have bleeding complications?"

The decision paid off. On August 19, two days after suffering the stroke, Preisendorf delivered a healthy baby girl, Maisy. Neither baby nor mom suffered any complications during the Caesarean section delivery, and Suzannah began recovering from her stroke.

STROKE VICTIM
Suzannah Preisendorf and Maisy (credit: CBS)

Immediately, Suzannah faced tough physical challenges. After delivering her baby, she was unable to sit up, stand, or walk on her own. She had lost use of her right arm, and even now, nearly four months later, continues to have numbness from her head to her toes on that side of her body. The first few weeks as a new mom were the most difficult, she says, both physically and emotionally.

"To have your baby cry and someone else goes and gets her, that was really hard," Suzannah said.

The couple says they relied on the help of family to care for Maisy. Preisendorf's sister has been staying with the couple regularly to help Suzannah as she relearns how to complete everyday tasks without the use of fine motor skills in her right hand. But her recovery has gone faster than she expected, and she can now do most things any other mother can. Scott says his wife's recovery has been remarkable.

"You don't realize how strong someone is until you see this kind of a thing," Scott Preisendorf says, "and you know, it just makes me love her more."

Doctors do not know what caused Preisendorf to suffer a stroke. She says both she and Maisy did not suffer negative side effects from tPA. Kaiser thinks it's unlike the drug crossed into the placenta, keeping it from effecting Maisy while she was in her mother's womb.

The Preisendorfs say they have no reservations about recommending other young pregnant women take tPA during a stroke. Kaiser hopes the Preisendorf family's story reminds people of the importance of stroke awareness, and acting fast when you do suspect a loved one is suffering from one.

"The biggest take away is that young people, especially young pregnant women, can have strokes."

Lauren DiSpirito is CBS4's Northern Newsroom reporter. Follow her on Twitter @CBS4Lauren. Share your story ideas with her here.

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