An early morning wake-up call from a family dog turned into a heroic act.
An early morning wake-up call from a dog turned into a heroic act when a family followed Axel, an adopted border collie, to find 17-year-old son Gabriel having a stroke.
The boy, Gabriel Silva, and his mother, Amanda Tanner, sat down with "Good Morning America" reporter Whit Johnson for an exclusive, on-camera interview about the harrowing experience and miraculous act.Family of Gabriel SilvaAs Silva struggled, Axel darted into the room where Tanner and her husband were sleeping."I thought you know, he's waking me up at five in the morning. Not good timing, but he just needed to go outside to use the restroom," said Tanner.
"It was a dissection of the artery that was causing a narrowing of it to not get blood to the brain."According to the CDC, each year nearly 800,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke. While risk increases with age, about 15% of strokes happen in children and adults under the age of 40. Up to 25% of strokes in young and middle-aged people are due to artery dissections, as in Silva's case. This dissection can lead to formation of a blood clot that then can block blood flow, and therefore oxygen, to parts of the brain.
Silva said the incident gave him a new perspective on life. He said he's learned not to "dwell" on things that may make him sad."I am beyond grateful for whatever sensitivity Axel has to tell us what's going on and to have moved that so fast."