Meet our August Stroke Hero of the Month - Elijah Rutherford

Elijah was born via c-section on June 27, 2003 after a day of labor that was not progressing. He presented to be a healthy baby with no health issues. Elijah’s mother Jennifer began noticing he was not meeting his milestone marks by the time his Well Baby visits were scheduled. His pediatrician would always say that if Elijah did not accomplish them within the next two weeks that he would be sent to a neurologist. Elijah would then meet his milestone in those two weeks. Jennifer began noticing how Elijah preferred to use his left hand instead of his right for every day tasks such as eating.

By the time he started walking at 19 months Elijah began dragging his right foot behind him. Every few steps he would fall down. Jennifer noticed other children who were walking for less time than Elijah seemed to have progressed farther than her son. Jennifer kept hearing from her family and friends that every baby learned at their own pace; “he was fine... don't worry”. But she did continue to worry. At Elijah's 18 month well check he was referred for a speech evaluation through early intervention. The speech therapist noticed how he was a lefty and dragged his right foot as he walked. He referred Elijah for an Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist evaluation. After the visit, Jennifer contacted her pediatrician to inform her of the referral; she was told to bring him in right away.  Later that afternoon Jennifer sat in the doctor’s office with Elijah.  It took 5 minutes for the pediatrician to examine Elijah. The doctor looked straight at Jennifer and said, "He has hemiparesis on the right side. Probably from a stroke in utero, but let's get him to a neurologist for an MRI to confirm it." She just stood there in shock. She knew babies had strokes but, unborn babies? No way.

Elijah was referred to a neurologist who conducted an MRI that confirmed the Pediatrician's suspicions. Elijah had a stroke in utero around the first or second trimester. The damaged part of his brain disintegrated leaving him with hydrocephalamolacia. Elijah’s parents had no idea why their son had suffered a stroke.  Blood tests failed to provide answers.

When Elijah was 3 years old his family moved to Missouri. A local orthopedic surgeon suggested that the parents consider botox injections and serial casting to help stretch Elijah’s leg. He was toe walking and couldn't put his heel down. Within 3 months of the move, Elijah was walking flat-footed.  Now, Elijah receives the botox injections and casting on a regular basis. He continues to get physical and occupational therapy as well as hippotherapy.

When he was 5 years old Elijah’s parents were expecting a baby brother for him.  It was during the second pregnancy that Jennifer learned the cause of Elijah’s stroke.  Blood work was repeated, but this time it detected an anomaly. The test results indicated that Jennifer had a pregnancy induced Protein S deficiency or “Thrombophilia” (Thrombophilia is an abnormality of blood coagulation that increases the risk of thrombosis or blood clots in blood vessels).

As Elijah got older, he became more aware of the lack of awareness regarding Childhood Stroke in the world. Pink, yellow, blue, white....all these ribbon colors were everywhere, but no purple ones. He began telling people who wore awareness ribbons that they needed purple ones. He saw a bakery next door to his therapy office had some pink awareness ribbon cookies. He immediately asked the baker why he didn't have any purple ones for pediatric stroke awareness. The following week, the baker had 6 purple ribbon cookies waiting for him. Jennifer began to brainstorm ways to spread awareness with Elijah that would be fun for a kid. That is when Pat Bearowitz came into being.

Elijah insisted on using his own teddy bear. He and his mother created a t-shirt for the bear that said "Pediatric Stroke Awareness" and sewed an awareness bracelet on the wrist.  When Elijah and his mother told his Orthotist about their idea, he donated a brand new AFO (Ankle-Foot-Orthosis) for Pat to wear. The two created a story about Pat that was based on Elijah's. When they posted the story on Facebook, the requests began pouring in. Pat went to visit other stroke survivors to spread awareness and help children not feel so different with the affects of their strokes. He became so popular, with other countries asking for visits that we had to come up with Patricia Bearowitz. To date, Elijah’s Pat/Patricia Bearowitz has a total of 85 families all over the world on their list of travels. The bears have journals and passports to document their journey.

Today, Elijah is 8 years old. He has transformed from a child with a speech delay, to a child with the vocabulary of a 14 year old. He was diagnosed with right Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy from a stroke in utero, Asperger's Syndrome, Bipolar Disorder and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). His hard work in therapy has paid off. He still has his difficulties, but most people don't even notice them. He is a child with a heart of gold. His compassion towards others amazes all who know him every day. Jennifer states that Elijah inspires her and truly is her biggest hero.

For demonstrating what a Childhood STROKE SURVIVOR can accomplish when provided the correct diagnosis and his efforts to comfort fellow STROKE HEROES while raising awareness through his Pat/Patricia Bearowitz program, Elijah Rutherford is our August 2011.

If you would like to read more about Pat and Patricia, you can go to their blog site. www.trackpatforpsa.org You can also sign up for a visit through the blog.

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