ABOVE: Jazlyn Geerdes reads a book with her niece Charlotte Petersen. While her reading was unaffected, Geerdes is learning to speak, swallow, write, and walk again as a result of the stroke. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – What started as a headache has turned into an immense journey, one which 20-year-old Jazlyn Geerdes has faced with strength and courage.

It started Saturday, May 17. A morning headache turned into difficulty speaking and an inability to walk or move her arms, according to her older sister Brianna Johnson. Geerdes was brought to the Emergency Room (ER) at Mayo in Fairmont at 4:30 p.m., but after six hours of CT scans and labs revealed nothing, she was discharged at 10:30 p.m.

Jazlyn’s mother Jodie Geerdes, knew something wasn’t right, and after monitoring Jazlyn through the night, took action.

“She couldn’t move to the left,” Jodie Geerdes said. “I knew, having been an EMT, that this wasn’t right. She had no language skills. She was foaming at the mouth. Mother’s intuition took her to Rochester that morning.”

Jazlyn Geerdes arrived at St. Mary’s ER at 9 a.m. Sunday. By 11 a.m., Johnson said doctors discovered a blood clot in the basilar artery, which gives blood to the brain stem. Geerdes was immediately rushed into surgery to remove the clot, which had caused a stroke that affected both sides of the brain.

“If it were a half-hour later, she would have been dead,” Jodie Geerdes said. “They told me that, and it woke me up as a parent that you need to trust your instincts, speak up for your children.”

It was determined the clot made it to Jazlyn Geerdes’s brain through a hole between the top two atriums in the heart. Around 25 percent of the population has this hole, which is meant to close after birth. For most, it is the size of a quarter and mostly a cosmetic defect. For Geerdes, the hole was the size of a half-dollar.

“Wherever the clot came from, that open hole in the heart allowed the clot to go through the heart and right up to the brain, instead of being filtered through the lungs,” Jodie Geerdes said.

While mentally nothing was harmed drastically, the physical side took the brunt of the damage. Geerdes needs to learn how to speak, swallow, eat, sit, stand, walk, write and how to combine all these skills to complete tasks like holding a glass, climbing stairs and getting dressed.

Generally, stroke patients are meant to be in the Intensive Care Unit for three days, transferred to a stroke unit for two to three weeks, then placed in rehabilitation for two to three months.

Within 24 hours she was moved out of the ICU, progressing to the point she could lift her arm and wiggle her toes. According to Jodie Geerdes, Jazlyn told nurses she would be out of the stroke unit in three days. Though the discovery of the heart hole delayed plans by a day, she showed enough recovery to be out in four days, including going from bedridden to walking with several nurses assisting.

Over the past 13 days, Jazlyn has passed her liquids test, continued to walk with less and less assistance and is now able to speak full sentences. The current prognosis is that Geerdes will be out of the hospital by June 6, turning a three-to-four-month hospital stay into potentially 21 days.

The progress shown by Jazlyn has been a proud moment for Jodie Geerdes, but she knows it comes from a place of frustration.

“She’s used to being able to do everything she wants,” Jodie Geerdes said. “She’s never been held back. She goes to nursing school, clinicals and works two or three jobs. This kid’s on the go all the time, so to hit that pause button was very difficult.”

In their time of need, Jodie Geerdes said there has been an outpouring of support from friends and family.

“I’m a widow, and me being here with Jazlyn leaves my younger child at home by himself,” she said. “My brother stepped up to make sure he gets to school and he’s getting his homework done. Family members traveling two hours each way, maybe to talk to her for 10 minutes because she’s so exhausted after therapy.”

The greater Fairmont area community and beyond has also pitched in. Letters have been sent with pre-paid cards for the family to buy meals, a GoFundMe for Jazlyn’s Recovery Journey has reached $3,975 and the Fairmont Raceway where Jazlyn worked will pass a hat for donations and donate proceeds from their 50/50 raffle during their B-Mod Battle Friday night.

Jazlyn, who has progressed to being able to speak full sentences, said she wants to get back to how she was before as soon as possible.

“Hopefully just getting back to my normal life,” she said. “Getting back to being better.”

Seeing all the outpouring of support, Jazlyn said she’s thankful for everyone.

“This was really hard, but I thank everybody for their support and whatever they’ve done,” she said. “I just appreciate it.”

For more information or to support, visit her GoFundMe at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-jazlyns-stroke-recovery-journey and her CaringBridge at https://tinyurl.com/mvmf88h7.