Help The McHale Family
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Wednesday afternoon on June 14. 2023, Lucas was throwing a football around with some friends and he jerked his neck causing him some pain so he told his friends he was done because his neck hurt. With the description he was giving they thought it was just a pinched nerve. By Thursday morning June 15, 2023 he couldn't move either arm. After 11+ hours at the ER at BMH (Beaufort Medical Hospital), he was then transferred to Charleston, the children's hospital at MUSC.
When he threw the football and jerked his neck, which caused trauma to one of his main arteries in his neck, which restricted blood flow and ultimately caused a stroke in his spinal cord. An extremely rare phenomenon and we are told that it’s actually worse than a typical stroke somewhere in the brain. He’s had CT scans, CT-A scans, MRI’s, MRA’s. Initially they suspected he had a dissection in the artery, which basically means a tear in the inner lining, causing clots. He lost nearly all function of his right arm, and most of his left. He can wiggle his fingers and move his wrists but not much else yet. He is showing good signs of improvement on the left side, but the right side is about the same so far. The long term is still uncertain but they are hopeful. Especially because of his age. The biggest mystery remaining is just the WHY.
Most, if not all the doctors here have never seen this type of stroke in person before as the chances of it are like 0.03%. Lots of neurologists and other teams of doctors are all working together to figure it. For now we’re are focusing on the therapy to regain use of his arms, and leaving the rest to the doctors.
Lucas is a loving, happy, energetic 15 year old boy who has his whole life ahead of him. Let’s try making this unimaginable event a little easier for them to handle.
With the time needed with their son, the McHales are going to be burdened with medical bills, rehab bills, and just everyday living expenses. Anything helps even just a share!
Thank you so much!
When he threw the football and jerked his neck, which caused trauma to one of his main arteries in his neck, which restricted blood flow and ultimately caused a stroke in his spinal cord. An extremely rare phenomenon and we are told that it’s actually worse than a typical stroke somewhere in the brain. He’s had CT scans, CT-A scans, MRI’s, MRA’s. Initially they suspected he had a dissection in the artery, which basically means a tear in the inner lining, causing clots. He lost nearly all function of his right arm, and most of his left. He can wiggle his fingers and move his wrists but not much else yet. He is showing good signs of improvement on the left side, but the right side is about the same so far. The long term is still uncertain but they are hopeful. Especially because of his age. The biggest mystery remaining is just the WHY.
Most, if not all the doctors here have never seen this type of stroke in person before as the chances of it are like 0.03%. Lots of neurologists and other teams of doctors are all working together to figure it. For now we’re are focusing on the therapy to regain use of his arms, and leaving the rest to the doctors.
Lucas is a loving, happy, energetic 15 year old boy who has his whole life ahead of him. Let’s try making this unimaginable event a little easier for them to handle.
With the time needed with their son, the McHales are going to be burdened with medical bills, rehab bills, and just everyday living expenses. Anything helps even just a share!
Thank you so much!
Organizer and beneficiary
Elizabeth Laing
Organizer
Beaufort, SC
Kristen McHale
Beneficiary