Why would a healthy-looking 10 year old girl be going to a stroke clinic?

April 9, 2009 10:46 AM

I teach chess to kids once a week. Yesterday one little girl, 10 years old, told me that she wouldn't be able to come to class anymore because she would be "going to the stroke clinic" 3 times a week, which conflicted with my chess class. Why would a healthy-looking 10 year old girl be going to a stroke clinic?

The only thing I've noticed about her that's in any way abnormal physically is that her gums look inflamed, but that may be because she has braces. The only other thing I know about her is that she's a foster child. This is all the information I can provide.

Thinking about this kept me up for most of the night.

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (16 answers total)

When I hear "stroke clinic" I think of a swimming skills development program.
posted by grouse at 10:48 AM on April 9, 2009 [2 favorites]

What grouse said.

Or, alternately, maybe she's accompanying somebody?
posted by box at 10:49 AM on April 9, 2009

Yup, swimming.
posted by amelioration at 10:49 AM on April 9, 2009

What does 'stroke' mean in this context? Golf stroke? Tennis stroke? Handwriting stroke? It might be something non-medical.

Or she could be going to visit a family member or friend.
posted by bluejayk at 10:49 AM on April 9, 2009

It's rather rare, but here's one thing I know of that can cause strokes in kids: MoyaMoya disease. Is this little girl of Japanese descent, by any chance?

Not that it really matters -- this is what I was first diagnosed with, as a 28-year old Caucasian. Thankfully, my artery blockages aren't getting any worse, which means my diagnosis has since been changed.
posted by cgg at 10:54 AM on April 9, 2009

I'd go with either a different meaning of stroke that she didn't know to specify, or that she is accompanying someone.
posted by tumples at 11:03 AM on April 9, 2009

She could be a volunteer of some sort, or visiting a relative.
posted by knile at 11:04 AM on April 9, 2009

fourthing swimming. Nothing worse than hacking your way through the water with a bad stroke.
posted by GuyZero at 11:30 AM on April 9, 2009

Kids can have strokes. BTW, MedlinePlus is a great source of info in general for HealthFilter-type questions.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:41 AM on April 9, 2009

My first reaction was that she was visiting a relative- you say she's a foster child- perhaps she is going to be visiting someone in her family on a regular basis?
posted by hellboundforcheddar at 11:47 AM on April 9, 2009

follow-up from the OP

Thank you everyone. It makes sense that it would be swimming because
the girl has come to class a couple of times with wet hair. Because I
only ever use "clinic" as term for a medical institution it hadn't
occurred to me that it might be any other kind of stroke.

You have greatly eased my mind.

posted by jessamyn at 12:23 PM on April 9, 2009

Inflammed gums can be caused by anti-seizure medicine which might go along with some kind of neurological problem going on. But yeah, it's probably swimming classes.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:50 PM on April 9, 2009

Children with sickle cell disease often have strokes at very young ages. Is she African-American by any chance?
posted by feathermeat at 4:34 PM on April 9, 2009

She could be trying to say something completely different but not be able to pronounce it. When I was a kid we had a "Graduation" from kindy and in my efforts to tell my family about my scholarliness I explained "MUMMY TODAY I BECAME A SCOLDER!".

Cue much confusion over whether I had scolded someone, been scolded, or been drafted into the army.
posted by divabat at 9:31 PM on April 9, 2009

Golf? Tennis?
posted by dicetumbler at 9:01 AM on April 10, 2009

Furthering what feathermeat said, I found this article.
posted by you're a kitty! at 2:47 PM on April 13, 2009