July 25, 2019, is a date seared into the collective memory of Jamie and Scot Goldstein and their sons, Noah and Jonah.
And it led to their family creating a nonprofit to benefit victims of pediatric strokes, a rare but serious condition that can occur in anyone from a month old to 18 years old.
The day started like any other. Noah and Jonah, then 14 and 11, respectively were outside their Owings Mills home having a lacrosse catch. Suddenly, Noah noticed feeling “light-headed” and his arm “a little tingly.”
Assuming he was dehydrated, Noah went inside to get a glass of water. But as he put the glass to his lips, he noticed his hand shaking “violently.”
Noah waited a couple of minutes thinking the shaking would stop, but soon realized it wasn’t going away.
“I walked into the garage where my dad was, and at this point my right leg was starting to tingle a little bit. I said, ‘If you don’t catch me, I’m going to fall.’”
Once at GMBC’s emergency room, Noah’s memory was “fuzzy.” But he will always remember one telling sign.
“The doctor weighed maybe 120 pounds. He was very skinny, didn’t have much muscle, and he pushed my leg down like it was a noodle,” Noah says. “Earlier in the day, I was leg-pressing 500 pounds. It was obvious that something was wrong.”
Says Scot Goldstein: “The minute I saw the nurses’ faces, I knew we had a major problem. We were only there for probably 10 minutes and they said, ‘He’s having a stroke and we need to get him to Hopkins now.”
Noah was taken by ambulance to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where surgeons attempted to perform an emergency thrombectomy. The operation was discontinued when the doctors examined Noah’s brain and determined surgery was too dangerous.
“Later, they told us, ‘If you would have seen my brain in a book, it would be on a cadaver,’” says Noah. “There’s no way this human could be living.”
The next morning, Noah was temporarily paralyzed and his cognitive level was that of a second grader. For the next week or so, he remained hospitalized at Hopkins. Then, he was transferred to Kennedy Krieger Institute, where he was treated for a month.
His family was at his side at all times. Jonah came down to the hospital each morning to cheer on his older brother during demanding physical therapy sessions.
After discharge, Noah’s recovery continued for 19 months. Initially, doctors weren’t certain he would survive, let alone recover all his former faculties.
Nineteen months after his recovery, Noah experienced two more strokes within a month of each other. The third stroke was “massive,” says Noah. “It was in the cerebellum, and it wiped out every function. It took my cognition back to a second-grade level. The worst part was I was now aware of what could happen. I knew it was going to be a grueling process to get back to where I wanted to be.”
Fortunately, Noah recovered from his third stroke relatively quickly. Doctors still don’t understand what caused the strokes, and how he was able to recover.
Now 20, Noah is a rising senior at Towson University. He plans to go on to graduate school to earn an MBA. Despite his miraculous recovery, Noah knows he could have another stroke at any time.
Rather than dwell on that possibility, he and his family are doing everything in their power to help others finding themselves in the same situation.
They started Strokes of Luck after Noah’s first stroke. The nonprofit’s mission is to “uplift and empower children who have faced the challenges of illness or adverse life events.”
The organization is primarily focused on raising awareness about pediatric strokes. One way that Strokes of Luck accomplishes this is by sending Noah to speak to community groups. So far, he has spoken at several sporting events and tournaments.
During his presentations, Noah talks about the signs and symptoms of pediatric strokes. By hearing Noah’s story, audiences also learn about the power of resiliency and determination.
Another aspect of Strokes of Luck is the personal attention given to other families just starting the pediatric stroke journey.
“I got a call about a week-and-a-half ago from a friend who said they had a friend whose 19-year-old son who had a stroke,” says Scot. “[He asked] ‘What would you suggest?’ I said, ‘Let me put you in touch with the team at Hopkins.’ We are helping people within the community that are going through something similar.”
As a rising junior at Boys’ Latin, Jonah Goldstein has found his own ways of contributing to the cause.
“After my brother’s strokes, I thought, ‘How can I give back and help him?’ I’ve always joked around with my friends and family about starting my own clothing brand and also my own lacrosse team. One day, we just decided, let’s do it!” says Jonah.
With help from his parents, Jonah last year started Sizzle Ventures. Sizzle Ventures has two components: Sizzle Apparel, a brand that makes t-shirts, sweatshirts and other merchandise, with all proceeds from sales donated to Strokes of Luck. (The Goldsteins are in the process of getting a trademark for Sizzle Apparel.)
The second component is a lacrosse team founded by Jonah known as Sizzle National.
“With Sizzle National, we’re trying to spread awareness for pediatric strokes and strokes in general,” he says. “I have some kids in my school and another kid from another school playing for us this summer. We’re playing at Blandair Regional Park [in Columbia] and at the summer national tournament. [These games] should be the first of many.”
Naturally, Jamie and Scot Goldstein are incredibly proud of their sons.
“Literally, my kids’ focus is, ‘How can we help this person?’” says Scot. “If they spend their lives trying to help others, they’re going to live a rewarding and rich life.”
Scot has also been humbled by the support his family has received from members of the local Jewish community.
“When I got back [from the hospital], I had over 600 messages from people that heard about Noah,” he says. “That’s all part of this community. Being part of this Jewish community is huge, and it’s had a major impact.”
For information, visit strokesofluck.org.
A committed philanthropist and community leader, Russel was president of R&H Motors.
The mother of four was a native of Winchester, Virginia, who spent most of her life in Northwest Baltimore.
The Columbia resident worked on the Gemini and Apollo space missions.
A St. Louis native, Edelman served as ambassador to the central African nation from 1987 to 1989.