Strides For Stroke highlights recovery of 8-year-old boy from Shorewood

SHOREWOOD, Minn. (FOX 9) - The soccer ball rolling across the lawn of Jessica and Alan Brandhorst’s backyard is in constant pursuit by a young boy driven to kick it past his big brother.

"He doesn’t have much fear, he’s determined," Alan said of his son James.

Determination has been a driving force that has powered James through many recent struggles.

"He’s overcome a lot of things that a 6-year-old shouldn’t have to deal with," said Alan.

Two years ago on Easter Sunday, James was playing around the house when he bumped his head and complained about it hurting.

"All of a sudden he started slurring his speech and he started drooling," recalled Alan. "And he’s like, ‘I can’t move my hands, I can’t walk.’"

Alan and Jessica drove James to the 212 Medical Center’s emergency room in Chaska where doctors performed a CT scan and found blood on his brain. Before they knew it, the ER staff had ordered an ambulance to immediately transfer James to Children’s Minnesota Hospital where he was diagnosed with an AVM rupture.

"It’s a bad spot in his brain that we didn’t know was there," explained Jessica. "But it’s from birth, like it happens before you were born, and it was like a buildup of blood pressure and it just burst."

Both Jessica and Alan said their son’s medical team at Children’s Minnesota was led by neurosurgeon Joseph Anthony Petronio. Having received the CT scan from the ER in Chaska, the neurosurgery team had James’s procedure entirely mapped out before the ambulance delivered him.

"They had it figured out like they had a plan for us, and his team was amazing," said Alan of Dr. Petronio.

James spent five weeks in recovery at Children’s Minnesota where he had four brain surgeries. Eventually he was transferred to Gillette Children’s for an additional five weeks of rehab and occupational therapy.

A stroke is more common than most people suspect. The Minnesota Department of Health reports more than 110,000 Minnesotans suffered from a stroke in 2021. It is now the fifth leading cause of death in the state, just recently surpassed by COVID-19. A stroke in a child such as James is rare, but not unheard of.

"It tells us that stroke can happen to anyone," said Bradley Donaldson of the Minnesota Stroke Association. "Traditionally, stroke is viewed as an issue that affects people as they get older. And that is true.  But it also affects younger people all the way down to in utero."

The Minnesota Stroke Association provides connection points to stroke survivors to assist them in their recovery. Case managers can direct survivors to support services such as rehab, social groups, or support groups. A portion of the funds it raises to provide these services comes in through the Strides for Stroke Walk. This year’s Strides for Stroke takes place Saturday, May 20, at Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton, in addition to St. Cloud and Duluth.

Anyone can register for participation in Strides for Stroke.

"There are not a lot of families like ours," explained Jessica about the help that the Minnesota Stroke Association has offered. "It’s good just to have a contact, a person to go to or a person that checks in with you to help you through and talk to someone that understands what it’s all about."

In the two years since his stroke, James is still on his recovery journey.  He has weakness in his left arm and leg, but it doesn’t stop him from anything.  When the soccer ball is in play, he’s a tough competitor to his older brother John.

"Seeing him in a good place makes us just smile," said Jessica as her face lights up with pride.

"James is still here and that’s what we know," added Alan. "That’s what we are grateful for. And we thank God every day that he is still here with us."