May is Stroke Awareness Month and little 10-year-old Emmanuel (Manny) Rosales is proof it can happen to anyone at any age.
May is Stroke Awareness Month and little 10-year-old Emmanuel (Manny) Rosales is proof it can happen to anyone at any age.
It was a normal night for the Rosales family in August 2022. Manny had taken a bath and been tucked into bed, when their nightmare began. “Manny came into my bedroom and was acting strangely,” says Eva Rosales, Manny’s mom. “I asked him if he was ok and he did not answer, so I called my daughter, Maricarmen, into the room.”
Maricarmen Rosales is Manny’s sister. She just so happened to be a patient care tech in the stroke unit at INTEGRIS Health Southwest Medical Center. She noticed right away that Manny was exhibiting several stroke symptoms. “He was having difficulty speaking and had a facial droop,” she remembers. “I told my mom we needed to get him to the hospital right away.”
The Rosales family took Manny to the emergency department at INTEGRIS Health Southwest Medical Center. They sang to him the entire drive to keep him awake. Once at the hospital, it was confirmed that Manny was having a stoke.
The stroke team quickly administered the clot busting medication known as tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA. He was then flown to Dallas for specialized pediatric care, but the family believes it was the quick action of the INTEGRIS Health staff that saved his life that night. “Manny has no long-term complications because my daughter recognized the signs of stroke and the INTEGRIS Health staff quickly administered the tPA,” declares Eva. “Because of them, Manny is once again a normal kid enjoying life.”
The family is sharing their story in hopes of educating the public on what to look out for. Maricarmen encourages everyone to know the signs of a stroke. “I used BEFASTT to identify the stroke in my brother.”
BEFAST
B - Balance
E - Eyes, check for vision loss
F - Facial Droop
A - Arm Weakness or Drift
S - Slurred Speech
T - Terrible Headache
T - Time to call 911
Eva says not to dismiss or ignore symptoms just because the person is young. “Anyone can have a stroke. This can affect people of all ages. I recommend we make sure to pay attention to our kids and notice when their behavior is not normal. Always be alert.”
