Young athlete recovering from stroke

It’s a medical emergency we usually associate with the elderly: “stroke”. But it can happen pretty much to anyone — at any time. Just ask Riley Dunda. One day — he was out on the ice, practicing with the Hamilton Junior Red Wings — and the next — he was fighting for his life.

Riley Dunda is 18-years old. And physio — is not his game. Just over a month ago — Riley was doing this: scoring goals for the Hamilton Junior Red Wings.

Riley Dunda: “I guess I remember walking into the living room, seeing the sun, and then falling backwards. And then getting hauled out to the ambulance. And then I don’t remember anything else.”

Dr. Wes Oczkowski is a Neurologist at Hamilton Health Sciences: “He had a large blood clot blocking the entire left side of the brain.”

Dr. Oczkowski says Riley had a massive stroke: “We estimate that about two million brain cells die every minute.”

For his Mom and Dad — Linda and Richard — there wasn’t much time to make a decision: “There’s an experimental procedure and it’s highly risky. The options are — well there aren’t many options, so away you go.”

And as they prepared to wheel Riley into the operating room, Richard had a message for his unconscious son: “I leaned over to him and I said, ‘You have to fight. You have to keep going.”

Dr. Oczkowski: “Doctors inserted a catheter — put it into his blood vessels, directed it up to his brain. Then they used something called a clot retriever on the clot, and grabbed the clot and pulled it out of his circulation.”

And since that grim moment — Riley hasn’t looked back: “The brain’s not fully running yet, but as long as there’s one task in front of you — it’s easy.”

Dr. Oczkowski will tell you nothing is ever easy, about a stroke. But: “At the age of 18, the rules don’t apply.”

And so — barely a month after his collapse at home — Riley is surprising everyone — except himself.

Dr. Oczkowski: “He walked a kilometer yesterday. Just — unbelievable.”

Richard: “At the beginning, it was our job to motivate and inspire him. Now, he inspires us.”

Dr. Oczkowski: “The future for him is not bleak by any means. The future for him is extremely optimistic and extremely positive and I imagine he’ll go a long way yet.”

And Riley knows exactly where he wants to go — and when he wants to get there: “By August, back on the ice. And back on the roster, by November.”