A 14-year-old Olathe North student is recovering from a very adult medical condition. Abby Anderson suffered a stroke in the middle of class.
Abby has been at Children’s Mercy for almost a month now. Her family is taking shifts to be with her 24 hours a day. Abby’s road to recovery is going to be a long one.
“I just didn’t believe it at first, you don’t hear of a 14-year-old having a stroke, that massive of a stroke very often at all,” said Kathy Anderson, Abby’s mom.
Her dad says it was hard to imagine.
“When we found out, it was a shock, but we quickly realized for Abby’s sake we had to be strong, pull it together as a family,” said Dan Anderson, Abby’s dad.
The doctors suspect a weakening of the carotid artery was the cause.
Abby hasn’t been to school for weeks, but staff and her friends at Olathe North created Abby’s Army, a fundraiser to help the family with medical costs. Her family says Abby doesn’t have use of the left side of her body, but she was using a walker this week as therapists are working on her regaining the use of her left leg before working on her arm.
There is still time to register for the Abby Anderson One Mile Turkey Trot and silent auction. It will be held at 8 a.m. on Sunday, November 27 at Mission Trail Middle School in Olathe, Kan.
You can also keep up with Abby’s road to recovery on her CarePages website: AbbyAnderson.
