A stroke at 12, Ely teen recovers while spreading awareness

The first day of track practice was supposed to be easy for Reegan Lueken.

The 12-year-old from Ely had been competing in athletics for years and was involved in club diving and tumbling, winning state tournaments in the latter sport. But as she approached the finish line of the last lap of track practice, Reegan began feeling lightheaded and sat down to try and regain her bearings.

Moments later, she noticed a group of friends talking in the distance.

"I wanted to see them, so I tried to get up, and I just couldn't — my body couldn't support me," she said. "One girl noticed, and then everybody just came towards me, and I still couldn't walk."

After noticing something was wrong, Reegan’s friends called her father, Ben, and he rushed her to UnityPoint Health-St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids. There, doctors told Ben and Reegan's mother, Maria, that their daughter had suffered an ischemic stroke in her middle cerebral artery, which occurs when a blood clot blocks or narrows an artery, reducing blood flow to the brain.

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Three years later, after numerous surgeries and having to relearn basic motor skills, Reegan, now 16, has shared her experience dealing with a stroke with hundreds of people as a way to advocate for stroke awareness and prevention. In May, she was recognized as one of six people in the United States to earn a Stroke Hero Award, given by the American Stroke Association, which is a division of the American Heart Association.

"Reegan's stroke was very significant, so as her parents, we are super proud of how she has responded to it all," Maria said.

‘We didn't know if she was going to make it’

While at St. Luke’s, Reegan was given medication to remove the blood clots and later was airlifted to the University of Iowa's Stead Family Children's Hospital to undergo surgery. Upon waking up from surgery, she couldn't move the left side of her body.

For the next 11 days, Reegan stayed in intensive care, where she had another stroke.

"There were times when we didn't know if she was going to make it," Maria said. "She couldn't hold food down and was sleeping 22 hours a day."

Maria said medical experts were then and still remain puzzled about why her daughter suffered a stroke. There was no history of stroke in their family, and Reegan was far below the average age of stroke victims — which is 74. There are theories, she said, as to why the stroke might have happened, including dehydration, elevated heart rate and a patent foramen ovale — or a hole in the heart known as PFO. However, doctors told the family that Reegan’s PFO was too small to be a contributor to the stroke.

Reegan's stroke is classified as a cryptogenic stroke, meaning the cause of the stroke cannot be determined. Roughly 35 percent of ischemic strokes are cryptogenic, according to the American Stroke Association.

Once her condition stabilized after her second stroke, Reegan was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation therapy facility, where she spent 36 days working with physical and occupational therapists to regain function on the left side of her body.

While at the inpatient rehabilitation therapy facility, Reegan celebrated her 13th birthday with family and medical staff, who decorated her room with balloons and banners and gave her presents.

"There was probably a dozen staff that came into her room and sang happy birthday," Maria said. "They did their best to make the day as special as possible."

For the Luekens, one of the most promising discoveries of Reegan's recovery didn't come from a doctor. Instead, it came from a game of Connect 4 between her and her mother.

"At this point, Reegan could barely move her left side at all, and none of us really knew what the repercussions (of the stroke) were going to be," Maria said. "The hospital had games, and so we played Connect 4, and she beat me, which was a big win for us because we knew, at least cognitively, she was the same Reegan pre-stroke."

"I've always been a competitive person, and I remember winning and bragging to my mom that, 'I just beat you, and I had a stroke," Reegan joked.

Slow recovery brings results

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By the time she returned home, Reegan could walk, climb stairs, move her left arm and grasp with her left fingers again. However, problems lingered, and she said adjusting to her new reality has taken time.

She continued going to rehabilitation therapy in an outpatient facility, where her mobility gradually improved. She eventually relearned how to ride a bike.

"The medical professionals that supported her are just super impressed with Reegan's progress," Maria said. "Reegan continues to apply the lessons she learned as an athlete to her recovery and life in general.“

Reegan credits the "outpouring" of support from friends and family for helping her navigate the sometimes difficult moments of living post-stroke.

"I've always made jokes about what happened (to me), and they'll laugh about it with me, but they'll never make me feel dumb about it, but (rather) like a survivor, which is awesome," Reegan said.

In September 2022, nearly two years after her incident, Reegan shared her story with hundreds attending Cedar Rapids CycleNation — an American Heart Association event that promotes stationary, road and spin biking events to support brain and heart health. This past February, a video of Reegan's story was shared with those in attendance at the American Heart Association's Heart Ball in Cedar Rapids.

"Reegan has done a great job of being confident enough to willingly speak and tell her story in public settings," Maria said.

Since her strokes, Reegan has worked to educate classmates and their families about recognizing stroke signs and prevention methods. Recently, when a friend's grandfather suffered a stroke, Reegan shared resources with him based on her own experience.

"I think it's definitely important to advocate because when I had my stroke, nobody really knew what was going on, and I don't know if maybe it would have changed things if people were able to recognize the signs quicker," Reegan said.

Today, Reegan is a rising junior at Prairie High School, where she is a member of the Green Bandana Project, a mental health awareness initiative. She enjoys hanging out with friends and going on trips with her family.

Reegan said she considers herself 80 to 85 percent fully recovered. She does physical therapy once weekly and has yearly appointments with her neurologist.

"She just had an appointment with her neurologist, and she was just so impressed with how far Reegan has come with her physical and mental recovery," Maria said.

Since earning the Stroke Hero Award, Reegan has sometimes struggled to accept it.

"I still don't understand why I got it," she said. "I mean, I don't feel like a hero personally."

"I think Reegan is a little too humble, "Maria said. "She sometimes doesn't realize that just by doing little things like spreading awareness can have a big impact on the community."

While Reegan might not consider herself a hero, Maria begs to differ.

"She is definitely my hero."

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