A family is sharing their son’s terrifying health scare in a bid to warn others about the importance of getting vaccinated against one of the world’s most common illnesses. 

Preston Patton, then aged six, from Illinois, was at his kitchen table at home when suddenly he fell off his chair and went completely limp. 

The youngster’s father, Shawn, said he was terrified as he saw his lifeless body on the floor and he immediately called 911.

Preston was rushed to hospital where scans revealed something unexpected: a blood clot in his brain. This blockage had caused him to suffer a stroke. 

Before he collapsed at home, Preston had been suffering from cold-like symptoms and had been diagnosed with the flu. 

In very rare instances, the flu can cause people to suffer a stroke due to various factors including changes in blood pressure and the way the blood clots.

The clot in Preston’s brain had caused complete paralysis on the left side of his body, which also affected his vision. 

Doctors feared his paralysis might be permanent but thanks to a first-of-its-kind surgery, they were able to reverse the damage which they deemed ‘truly magical’.  

Commenting on his condition when he arrived at hospital, Dr Sourabh Lahoti at OSF Healthcare said: ‘He had complete paralysis on the left side of his body. 

‘No movement was possible, and the vision in his left visual field was lost. He could not move his eyes to the left, either.

‘He had the tell-tale signs of a stroke affecting the right side of his brain.’

Doctors at OSF HealthCare moved quickly to remove the clot – performing a procedure known as a thrombectomy. 

‘We had to take that clot out. If we hadn’t, then chances are he would have gone on to develop a very big stroke.

‘This would have not only left him paralyzed potentially for the rest of his life, but it could have been life threatening and taken his life,’ Dr. Lahoti says.

While thrombectomies are more common in adult stroke patients, they remain exceedingly rare in children. 

Preston was one of the first children in the world to have the procedure done.

‘By the time we went on to do this procedure of clot removal, which is called thrombectomy, that clot had further traveled down to a smaller blood vessel,’ says Dr. Lahoti. 

‘The further out the clot is, the higher the risk it is to get it out. Because we’re getting into very tiny blood vessels in the brain. We decided to take that risk and prevent a lifelong disability.’

Soon after Dr Lahoti and his team removed the clot, they saw a complete reversal of Preston’s paralysis.

Dr Lahoti added: ‘To have him come in with complete paralysis, and then we did this procedure under anesthesia. After the anesthesia was taken off, he woke up and was able to move his left arm and leg again.’

Prior to this type of intervention, patients — especially children — had few choices and they would often be left with paralysis for life.

The signs of Preston’s illness began about a month before the stroke. 

He had a bladder infection that turned into a kidney infection, requiring hospitalization just days before Christmas Eve in 2023. He was then discharged only to return under emergency conditions.

At the time of the stroke, his heart function had dropped to just 10 percent, his dad says. His doctors believe a rare complication led to his condition.

‘In his case, he had gotten the flu. Because of the flu, there was a cross-reaction of the immunity his body built up for the flu,’ Dr. Lahoti explains. 

‘His immune system attacked the flu virus, but also his kidneys and heart, too. Because of that, his heart pumping got really weak, and we think that led to the formation of a clot in his heart. The clot then traveled from the heart to his brain.’

It is not clear if Preston had had the flu vaccination but rates across the country have plummeted in recent years. 

For children in the US, rates dipped from about 64 percent five years ago to 49 percent this past season. 

While flu vaccinations may not prevent people from coming down with symptoms, research shows they are highly effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths.

The past season was not only hard on children. CDC officials described it as ‘highly severe,’ and estimated that there were at least 47 million illnesses, 610,000 hospitalizations and 27,000 deaths.

Children, especially those under five, are particularly vulnerable to the flu due to their developing immune systems, smaller respiratory passages, and increased susceptibility to complications.

In a typical flu season, an estimated 20,000 children under five are hospitalized with flu complications, with up to 200 passing away. 

Preston’s father adds that his late wife — the children’s mother — tragically passed away from a pulmonary embolism, making the emergency even more challenging emotionally.

Preston spent a couple of weeks in the hospital, but today, he is thriving and he’s back in school. 

He’s practicing running and riding his bike and is even thinking about his future.

‘He goes to OT (occupational therapy) once a week, PT (physical therapy) once a month now. He’s getting along pretty good,’ Shawn says.

Preston also received Botox in his left arm to help regain movement, and while he didn’t play baseball this year, his progress continues.