At only 12 years old, Arianna Kulyk has already been through more than most people do in their entire lifetime.
The Barrie girl is finally back home after spending the last several months in Toronto hospitals following a stroke and multiple brain aneurysms last fall.
Arianna, who is in Grade 7, was put under anaesthesia to undergo dental surgery to prepare to get braces, but after returning home, mother Natasha said she started acting strangely.
“She couldn’t walk to the bathroom, she complained of a headache… and then she started punching herself in the head. Then she threw up and passed out and didn’t wake,” Natasha tells BarrieToday. “Then I called 911.”
Natasha says at first she didn’t know if her daughter’s “odd” behaviour was due to the anaesthesia not being fully worn off, but as soon as she passed out and wouldn’t wake up, she knew something was terribly wrong.
“I was really, really scared,” she admits. “I was crying. She looked so grey like she was dead. It’s something I’d never experienced and my heart was pounding.”
After being taken by ambulance to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie, Arianna underwent a CT scan where doctors discovered she had a large brain bleed. They quickly had the youngster transported to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto by air ambulance.
“I felt like it was an out-of-body (experience),” says Natasha, who travelled with her daughter by helicopter to Sick Kids while her husband drove down to Toronto. “I remember being in emerg at Sick Kids and having doctors talking to me and a bunch of doctors working on her.”
Arianna was placed in a medically induced coma for several days, during which time Natasha and her husband, Johnny, learned that their oldest daughter suffered from a rare neurological disease called arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The condition is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain.
“You’re born with it and when it sets off, there’s really nothing you can do,” Natasha says.
As a result, Arianna suffered a major stroke, resulting in paralysis on the entire left side of her body.
“She couldn’t walk. She couldn’t talk,” Natasha says.
After about a week at Sick Kids, Arianna was transferred to Bloorview Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital where she spent three months undergoing rehabilitation and physical therapy.
Arianna, who returned home shortly before Christmas, is now able to walk with the help of a cane, however she's still dealing with significant mobility issues, her mom says.
“She doesn’t have feeling on her whole left side and her hand has limited function. She can’t grab anything, she can’t cut or do up her jacket. … She can hold a pen but it will drop," Natasha says.
Natasha describes her daughter as "a rock star” throughout the entire ordeal, adding that despite being sad and frustrated that she’s not been able to join in with her usual favourite activities — such as snowmobiling, dirt biking or riding her bike — Arianna has still managed to maintain a positive attitude.
“Right now, she’s stuck on the couch and she’s tired all the time. It’s hard when you see your friends dance or play outside," she says.
With major brain surgery scheduled for Friday, Feb. 18 in Toronto, Arianna is feeling "pretty fearful" this week, her mom says.
“This is major, major surgery… but it’s the only way to save her life,” says Natasha, adding the whole family has been feeling anxiety this week. “I was fine last week, but now that we have (a few) more days, I am scared. The worst-case (scenario) is being thrown around in my head. It’s nine hours… and then I am scared it can’t be fixed and that they can’t get to it.”
Arianna’s prognosis post-surgery is good, Natasha says, with doctors anticipating the youngster only experiencing mild long-term impacts.
“Her hand may never come back… and she may walk with a limp, but that may stop. Some parts of her body she can't feel right now. They say it slowly comes back, but the sensations may be different,” she says.
It’s still going to be a long, difficult and expensive road for the entire family, which is why friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money that will assist in covering the cost of a hotel, food and gas while Arianna continues on her road to recovery.
Natasha says they couldn’t be more grateful for the love and support they’ve received from friends and family, not to mention complete strangers who have rallied behind them since Day 1.
“It means the world to us. The things people have done… people were dropping off meals and food for us. I couldn't believe what they did,” she says. “I don’t even know how to thank people when this is all over.”
