Kansas City, MO - Just more than three years ago, Joey Gallagher was four-years-old and experienced two consecutive seizures. His mother Leila says after the second, the doctor was quick to order an MRI.
"He had not only an old stroke on his brain, but he has an extremely rare brain disease called Moyamoya. It's one-in-a-million," explains Leila.
The Gallaghers are asking others to ride with them to raise awareness and funding at the American Stroke Association's Cycle Nation event on Thursday, October 3 at 6pm in the Power and Light District.
She says there had never been any signs that anything was wrong. Leila wants everyone to know that a stroke can happen at any age. It was the last thing on her mind when her son Joey had his first seizure.
Joey is seven-years-old now and hasn't had a stroke for two years, thanks to the surgeries promoting new blood vessel growth on his brain.
Leila has a simple message to other parents, "When you have a gut feeling that something's wrong, go with the gut and make yourself aware of the symptoms."