Ashlie

Ashlie is a gifted 15-year-old athlete who excels in softball, basketball and track. During an athletics period in September, she was lifting weights and felt a pop, getting light-headed and dizzy. When going out to run on the track, she felt a tingling sensation in her legs and decided to take it easy and just walk. “I called my mom on the bus and told her my legs weren’t working,” Ashlie said. “When I got to my grandma’s house, I started to lose more feeling in them.” Her family thought she was experiencing severe cramps from her workout, and they began icing it. When it didn’t get better, they took Ashlie to get help and eventually she was brought to the Children’s Health℠ in Dallas’ Emergency Department (ED). 

She was having stabbing pains in both of her legs, complete loss of strength and the ability to walk, she was unable to move her toes, and her feet and ankles were turning black and blue. Team members and physicians immediately helped Ashlie and determined she was experiencing a spinal cord stroke. “It was the scariest thing, and we just want people to know the signs so they don’t ignore it and go get help as quick as they can,” Ashlie’s mom Amy said. “It was such a blessing that we came to Children’s Health when we did. From the minute we got there, everyone was focused on caring for Ashlie, and for us too. We had the most wonderful teams and they guided us through this situation. We really felt like she was getting the help that she needed.” 

After the initial treatment Ashlie received for the spinal cord stroke from the ED, Intensive Care Unit, stroke and neurology teams, she was moved to the Integrated Therapy Unit (ITU), a Panda Cares Center of Hope, to begin therapy. The ITU team provided various forms of physical therapy for her to start regaining her strength and worked with her on relearning some basic daily functions that were affected by the spinal cord stroke. “Everyone cared for Ashlie like they were her child and wanted to help her, and they did,” Ashlie’s dad Jerry said. “We’ve never been to a hospital like that. That’s the best hospital I’ve ever been to.” After some time and daily work in the ITU, Ashlie was cleared to return home in mid-October. The ITU team sent her off with one of their special patient discharge parades, celebrating the progress she made during her time at Children’s Health.

“I remember the people who cared for me and the ones who I saw every day and know that I am doing better because of them. I look back and my favorite memories were being cheered out of the hospital, making friends with the team members and taking trips to the Starbucks downstairs,” Ashlie said. 

Ashlie is taking it one day at a time, still working through physical therapy and coming back to the Dallas campus from her home in Dawson, Texas for appointments. She’s making progress every day, regaining strength and conquering challenges as they come. Ashlie’s family sends their heartfelt thanks to all the team members and physicians who cared for them, giving them credit for how far she’s come.  

Children’s Health’s Integrated Therapy Unit, a Panda Cares Center of Hope, provides transitional pediatric care between acute-care hospitalization and home. The ITU offers coordinated, comprehensive services for children from infancy through age 18 with developmental or birth disorders, traumatic injury and severe illness. Thanks to Panda Express’ $7.5 million pledge, made possible by Panda Express guests and associates through the partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, the Center of Hope offers specially curated programs that address each child’s entire well-being, including their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual needs, all of which are designed to give children the ability and courage to thrive.

Read more patient stories like Ashlie's to learn how Children's Medical Center Foundation makes life better for children. Join us each year on Aug. 8 for Panda Cares Day, a day of giving at your local Panda Express.