Chloe is one of the happiest babies you’ll ever meet – she is also a stroke survivor.

Morgan Lyon with her husband, Lowell and daughter, Chloe.

Rookie runner, Morgan Lyon, takes over our blog this week to share her inspiring journey as a new mom to her beautiful daughter and stroke hero, Chloe.

This past year has been an adventure to say the least. On November 30, 2017, my daughter Chloe, suffered a stroke while I was 39-weeks pregnant. I had noticed that morning that she was not moving around in my belly the way she normally did, so I went to my obstetrician’s office for a non-stress test.

Immediately following the test, they told me that the baby was in distress and I was rushed in for an emergency C-section. The doctors noticed that Chloe’s muscle tone was low and that her oxygen levels were lower than normal, so she was quickly taken for her first helicopter ride to Boston, with her Dad, to undergo life-saving therapy. I followed behind in an ambulance a few hours later after recovering from surgery.

Chloe underwent 72-hours of cooling therapy and stayed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for two weeks. Once she had recovered from cooling therapy, she was swaddled and taken to the MRI suite for brain imaging, this was when her stroke was discovered. Even after having an echo to determine the cause, we still do not have a reason as to why Chloe had a stroke.

My husband, Lowell, and I, are so grateful for the care we received and happy to report that at 15-months old, Chloe is meeting all of the usual baby milestones! Every day has been a journey for us, not only through Chloe’s recovery, but through life as new parents as well. There have been many highs and many lows, but thanks to Chloe’s amazing care team and our obstetrician’s and pediatrician’s quick decision making, Chloe has been able to make a remarkable recovery.

Chloe is one of the happiest babies you’ll ever meet. Her giggle is contagious and her smile lights up the room – she is also a stroke survivor and the reason I’ve decided to run the Boston Marathon this year with Tedy’s Team.

Lowell and I have been fairly private about our family’s experience with Chloe’s stroke. One of the most difficult aspects of her stroke is that at her age, there’s a lot of, ‘wait and see.’ We only told a few close friends and family because of the uncertainty of how the stroke would impact her life; we didn’t want anyone to look at her differently. Over the last 15 months, we’ve continued to be amazed by how well she is doing. She’s a fearless adventurer with a contagious smile.

Prior to Chloe’s birth, I had never heard of perinatal strokes until it impacted our daughter’s life. Through our experience, we’ve come to learn that perinatal strokes occur in approximately 1 in 2,000 births. We are fortunate that Chloe’s stroke was recognized right away and that she was able to receive treatment that minimized the damage to her brain. Many are not as fortunate and they do not know their child has suffered a stroke until they get older and start to demonstrate common side effects of the stroke.

Running has been very therapeutic for me as an adult and especially in navigating the ups and downs of Chloe’s first year. It has always been a bucket list item of mine to run the Boston Marathon and I’m proud to be able to run it in honor of my daughter this year. Through my participation with Tedy’s Team, I hope to share Chloe’s story and give hope to other parents of perinatal stroke survivors, while raising awareness for our littlest and mightiest stroke survivors.