May is nationally recognized as Stroke Awareness Month; May 2nd 2009 has been selected as Childhood Stroke Awareness Day.  Being cognizant of the importance of the month of May and how it relates to Childhood Stroke Awareness, this month’s Stroke Hero, Michelle Ballasiotes, proves that so many times our youth serve as role models for the adults.
 
Michelle was born In November 1997; just one day shy of 36 weeks. Her mother’s pregnancy was uneventful, with a normal amniocentesis at 20 weeks. At 29 weeks gestation Michelle’s parents received the news that their baby had a brain abnormality. The ventricles in Michelle’s brain were enlarged and the probable diagnosis was hydrocephalus (an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] in the brain). A wonderful neurosurgeon performed surgery on Michelle when she was 3 days old to place a shunt to allow the CSF to flow normally. He came out with “good” news after the surgery. The cause of Michelle’s hydrocephalus was a one-time “event”, a hemorrhage in her brain. Michelle had suffered a stroke sometime between 20 and 29 weeks gestation.  To this day, her parents still do not know what caused Michelle to have a hemorrhagic stroke before she was born.
 
Mary Kay, Michelle’s mother, stated that they were one of the fortunate ones to get Michelle’s diagnosis of stroke so early. A lot of babies’ strokes aren’t detected until months or even years after they suffer a stroke, because there is a lack of awareness that 1 in 4,000 babies can suffer strokes. Michelle was able to start treatment very early, while her brain was still forming pathways. Her official medical diagnosis is right hemiplegia, which is a form of cerebral palsy. Hemiplegia is the most common form of cerebral palsy in children born at term, and stroke is the number one cause.
 
Unwilling to simply “deal” with her situation, Michelle has become an outspoken activist in the mission to raise Awareness for Childhood Stroke.   The embodiment of the term advocate, Michelle adds a powerful voice to the thousands of SURVIVORS of Childhood Stroke who go unnoticed every year.
 
Empathetic to the pain and difficulties they suffer, Michelle has had Botox in her right leg (not for wrinkles though), 2 surgeries, wears an ankle foot orthotic (AFO) on her right leg, has gone to weekly physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) since she was 6 months old.  She will never regain full use of the right side of her body because a left portion of her brain stopped developing when her stroke occurred. She will live her entire life as a stroke survivor
 
But Michelle is not "disabled" she is "differently-abled" and would like to make sure that kids like her understand that they should never give up hope.
 
Michelle has been involved with the American Heart Association (AHA) since early 2006 promoting her main objective of creating awareness for pediatric stroke. She wants to help other kids who are fellow stroke SURVIVORS.  Recognizing that improved care and treatment will only come from an informed and educated medical profession, Michelle strives to encourage more research so other kids don't have to go through what she has gone through.
 
Michelle’s involvement with the AHA has included:

- Attending Lobby Day for the past 3 years;
- Participating in 2 Heart Walks, one in Chicago, IL, one in Augusta, GA;
- Speaker at the Heart Walk kick-off, Chicago, 2006;
- Radio DJ promoting Heart Walk, 2006;
- Speaker at National Survivor Luncheon, 2007;
- Providing help with a Girl Scout Disability Awareness Day (the AHA had a booth);
- One of the "12 Faces of Cardiovascular Disease"; attending 2 "Strike Out Stroke" days with a semi-pro Chicago baseball team;
- Wrote a story about her life at age 8 and it was featured on the AHA's website; -= Has been featured in numerous newspapers, magazines and online articles about pediatric stroke;
 
All of these efforts have culminated in Michelle being selected as the 2009 Stroke Hero for Augusta, Georgia and being named the 2009 National Youth Advocate of the Year award.
 
For her extraordinary efforts to Raise Awareness for Childhood Stroke, Michelle Ballasiotes has been selected as our May 2009 Stroke Hero of the Month!