AR changing pediatric stroke practice because of Bellaflies

“Since introducing The Bellaflies Foundation into our OutreACH Education Program, we have presented pediatric stroke to awareness and education to 41 counties, 944 Paramedics, EMTs, Firefighters, School Nurses, and ER Clinicians, and 91% will change their practice as a result of Bellaflies pediatric stroke course.” -Charles Wooley RNIII, Paramedic Arkansas OutreACH Coordinator

We are JUST getting started!! We have committed to brining pediatric stroke education to the WHOLE STATE of Arkansas!! All of our proceeds from our Strides for Strokes event series will be donated to Pediatric Stroke OutreACH Education until the whole state is covered!

 

Bellaflies funds life-changing pediatric stroke research at UCSF

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) VIPS (Vascular effects of infection in Pediatric Stroke Study) Team and Bellaflies partnered in 2014 to fight pediatric stroke. Since then we have continued to support their pediatric stroke research and we are excited to tell you about their findings.

Our joint goal was to figure out why strokes happen in children like Bella, and how physicians and researchers can prevent them. Bellaflies’ funding helped them figure out that children with a stroke have an increased risk of having a second stroke, especially if they have diseased arteries to the brain. They also discovered with the pediatric stroke research grant that inflammation plays a role in the progression of the arterial disease in children with stroke, and increases the risk of a second stroke.

The second study we funded at UCSF helped them figure out that herpes viruses (the cause of chicken pox and cold sores) are an important trigger for pediatric stroke even if the infection is not presenting with symptoms. The most recent study we funded focused on stroke in the very young. They found that children who are very young are less likely to have a headache at the time of the stroke, but more likely to have seizures. The very young are more likely to have strokes from blood clots in the heart, but can still have diseased arteries to the brain. This research is just the beginning!

This team of Vascular effects of Infection in Pediatric Stroke (VIPS) researchers is made up of data from 355 children who have had a stroke from 37 different hospitals, 5 continents, 9 countries around the globe who are all united in stopping pediatric strokes!

 

SFS 2017 Honoree Adora Wood, Neonatal Stroke Survivor

 

 

We are proud to honor Adora Wood at SFS 2017! Thank you so much Jami for writing Adora’s stroke story for us, and helping us spread pediatric stroke awareness!

Our friends at Peekaboo Magazine published Adora’s story and continue to be partners with us in fighting pediatric strokes! Thank you for all of the awareness you provide by featuring our honorees!

Read Adora’s Story 

Support ACH = Donate to B3

We are now collecting items for our 4th Annual B3 benefiting Arkansas Children’s Hospital! Every year our donation has grown, and ACH is incredibly grateful! Each item is not only wanted, but very much needed. B3 is such a wonderful way to Make a Positive and get your children involved! Please feel free to pass on all B3 information, and take up your own collection at your place of business, school, church group, etc.

Please make sure that whatever you donate in new/in original packaging due to risk of infection. screen-shot-2016-10-13-at-1-54-58-pm

screen-shot-2016-10-13-at-1-37-07-pm