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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 14, 2014 | 30 Five-year-old stroke survivor a Miracle ambassador by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff Health "Connected to your Community" Marlowe Cuss-Doyle is a typical five-yearold. She swims like a fish, dances, sings, plays soccer and goes to gymnastics. The miraculous thing is she does it all in spite of having had a stroke shortly after birth. Treated at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), the Oakville tyke's success story has earned her the role of patient ambassador for the hospital. She was at the 215 North Service Rd. W. Dairy Queen serving blizzards from noon-2 p.m. for the chain's Miracle Treat Day today (Thursday). Miracle Treat Day is a one-day, national charity drive that donates all proceeds from Blizzard treats sales at participating locations to local Children's Miracle Network member hospitals. Locally, the proceeds from northern and south-central Ontario Dairy Queen locations will be donated to SickKids. "She (Marlowe) wants to help as much as she can," said Kari Cuss, Marlowe's mother. "Not just because the physicians and nurses helped, but she said to me, `There are other little kids that need help too, Mom.' "We're just so proud of her, that she wants to participate and is enthusiastic about it all. We can only hope she will want to continue to be an ambassador because she really is a good news story." For Cuss and her husband, Declan Doyle, the arrival of their first child was muchanticipated with the nursery prepped and a name selected. But things took a turn when Marlowe's We couldn't believe it... We were shocked and scared at what that meant, not only at that moment, but for the rest of our lives. Does it mean she won't be able to walk, talk? Will she be able to do the things other kids get to do? We were absolutely petrified. Kari Cuss Marlowe's mother Marlowe Cuss-Doyle heart rate began to drop during labour and the umbilical cord became wrapped around her tiny chest. An emergency Caesarean section was needed. Born on Jan. 25, 2009, Marlowe was placed in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) at St. Joseph's Hospital in Toronto where nurses noticed she was periodically turning blue. After being taken by ambulance to SickKids, Marlowe was examined by specialists and an MRI showed she had suffered a stroke. Swelling in the brain had also caused seizures. "We couldn't believe it. You worry about all sorts of things as a first-time mom -- are the walls the right colour? Will she break out in a rash from the sheets? No, my child had a stroke," said Cuss. Doctors told Marlowe's parents 50 per cent of their daughter's brain suffered permanent damage that could not be reversed. "We were shocked and scared at what that meant, not only at that moment, but for the rest of our lives," said Cuss. "Does it mean she won't be able to walk, talk? Will she be able to do the things other kids get to do? We were absolutely petrified." The silver lining with infants and stroke, Cuss and Doyle were told, is the brain immediately begins to rewire itself, making new connections and essentially figuring out new ways to perform the tasks it needs to do. "If she were significantly older (when the stroke happened), we would have had a much different problem," said Cuss. "But because she's so brand new, she's going to learn Audiology and Hearing Aid Centre Many people feel frustrated when they can't participate in small group conversations. This is often due to the room noise overwhelming the soft high frequency speech sounds that are so critical for speech clarity. Poor acoustics such as large rooms, restaurants or cars add to the confusion. Today's hearing instruments adjust automatically to optimize speech understanding in all situations. Digital hearing aids are quite good at isolating the speech information and controlling the background noise while speech is present. With practice most people find they are able to participate in conversations with ease again. Come and experience the new technology for yourself. The first step to better hearing is a hearing test. HEARING SCIENCES "When I am in a group, I just smile because I can't follow the conversation" Call (905) to book your complimentary hearing test ($60 value, Age 55+) If you've forgotten what fair, professional services feels like, call us and prepare to be amazed! Satisfaction guaranteed! 465-3277 (EARS) OAKVILLE 2419 Marine Drive in an entirely different way and so far, there hasn't been anything she hasn't been able to do. It's pretty amazing." Marlowe's mother credits her daughter's positive prognosis to SickKids' early diagnosis. The youngster does have a small palsy in her left hand, a form of paralysis accompanied by tremors, which means it works a bit slower, but she goes to occupational therapy to treat it. She also has a leg brace on her left side, below the knee, to make sure the muscles continue to grow at the same rate as her other leg. Marlowe began physiotherapy approximately five weeks after she was born and her physiotherapist encouraged her parents to get her as physically active as possible. As a result, the five-year-old has become quite the social butterfly, says Cuss. "She walks right in and she's really comfortable; not one of those kids who hangs by your side. She just runs in, ready to take on whatever it is, and she just loves it," she said. And Marlowe has also embraced being a big sister to siblings Jude, 3, and Sam, 1 -- taking her duties to heart. "She loves to tell them what to do," Cuss said jokingly. "But she's a real coach to them, standing with them while they're trying something new... and claps for them when they do something well. She's even been helping Sam learn how to walk... it's adorable." Cuss notes she's happy to see her daughter develop into a compassionate and empathetic person, even when meeting other children. "We didn't know what was going to happen when they told us she had a stroke. We had no idea what that meant. So every day since has been better," said Cuss, "and we've just been proud of everything she does and tries, and how she interacts with other kids. I'm not quite sure if Jude and Sam would be as positive as they are without her."