OWEN DiMANNO
Owen was 14 years old when he suffered an Ischemic Stroke caused by an Internal Carotid Artery Dissection. On April 12, 2018 he was running a long distance race at his first High School track meet, where at some point during or just after the race his artery dissected. Owen fell quite ill, and his coach immediately knew that this illness was more than just exhaustion or exertion. Owen was transported to a local hospital where it took much convincing from the coach to the ER Doctor that he believed Owen had suffered a stroke. Owen was then transported to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, where it was discovered that he had indeed suffered a massive stroke. Owen underwent an emergency surgery to remove the right side of his skull in order to protect and save his life and spent 8 days in a coma. After months of rehabilitation Owen was able to regain the ability to eat, walk and use the tone of his voice appropriately. Owen will most likely never regain the use of his left hand, but it won’t be for his lack of trying! Owen continues to work hard, and is even golfing with one hand!
ANDREW VERMEULEN
Andrew was 10 years old when he suffered a Hemorrhagic Stroke caused by a ruptured Arteriovenous Malformation in his brain. On February 28, 2015 he was playing at his friend’s house when he started to get a tingly feeling in his left hand and leg and a headache that quickly grew in severity. Andrew’s friend’s dad is a trained firefighter and knew that something was not right and an ambulance was called. He was rushed to a local hospital where a CT scan showed a massive bleed on his brain. He was then transported to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto where he underwent emergency brain surgery to remove a large portion of his skull to operate and relieve the pressure and spent 5 days in a coma. After two and a half months of inpatient rehabilitation Andrew has regained his mobility and strength. Andrew hasn’t let his stroke define him or hold him back from living his best life.
