THE WOODLANDS, Texas — A family in The Woodlands is extra thankful for their furry friend after it saved their teenager’s life when he suffered a stroke.
When Gabriel Silva, 17, was suffering a stroke alone in his room, his parents said Axel, their 1-year-old border collie, knew something was wrong. Amanda Tanner remembers the morning in late August well.
“[Axel] jumped on my bed and was kind of like aggressively trying to wake us up,” she said.
It was 5:45 a.m. and she thought the dog needed to go outside.
“My husband walked all the way to the sliding door. Axel did not follow him. He stopped in front of Gabriel’s door,” Tanner said.
We now know Gabriel was in his room panicking. He had fallen, his vision was fuzzy, and he couldn’t feel his right arm. Thanks to Axel, his dad went into the teenager’s room.
“I knew something was wrong, then I found my dad. That’s when I knew something was really wrong. I tried to talk to him but I was slurring my words,” Gabriel said.
The family rushed him to the hospital.
Gabriel’s doctor at Memorial Hermann said the teenager was suffering a large left-sided stroke.
“He could not speak. He could not understand language. He was nearly paralyzed on the right side of his body,” Dr. Sabih Effendi, Stroke Medical Director at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center, said.
Over the last couple of months, the senior at Klein Oak High School has made great strides in speech and physical therapy.
Doctors said one factor in his recovery is he got medical help quickly that morning thanks to Axel. The family now plans to train Axel to be a service dog.
“To me, it’s God sent. There is a different plan in life. Axel is one of nine puppies. He’s the one no one wanted. He’s the reject,” Amanda said, “It was meant to be. He was meant to be a part of our family. He had a purpose. He’s going to continue to have a purpose.”
It is important to know the signs of stroke in order to get medical help quickly. Symptoms include trouble with balance, vision, and speech, as well as weakness in the face or arms.