Wish Alumni Then & Now Feature – Kaylan

On May 21st, 2014, I suffered a giant basilar artery brain aneurysm on my brain stem at 10 years old just before my 11th birthday. I was just a normal 10-year-old little girl that was very active, I was involved in sports like softball, gymnastics and pretty much any other sports you could think of. I was very involved in dance, I was a cheerleader also I took jazz and clogging, which is similar to Irish river dancing and it’s a signature southern dance. I was involved in a club at my school called the Kiwanis K-Kids which is a big honor because you get the opportunity to help your community and be a leader to the next generation. I was part of the school choir because I am very passionate about music and singing. The show choir performed at Harnett off Broadway which was a collaboration of our local schools who perform at a high school nearby. I also performed at a dance recital just a month prior to my brain aneurysm.  

My life was perfectly normal then one day my normal life dramatically changed. When I was in 5th grade of elementary school, I would get these terrible headaches that were so debilitating. My mother is friends with the gym teacher so she would let me lie down in her gym office during recess and I would be fine for the rest of the day. During the clipping of the aneurysm, I suffered two strokes that essentially left me with the inability to move, talk, eat or drink, at the time. I was only able to move my left eye.  With the help of intense physical therapy, I have regained some movement on the right side of my body and communicate with minimal assistance. My road to recovery has been very long, but I refuse to give up now!