'She's my hero': Young girl saves grandmother from stroke twice

Aishwarya Dudha · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 26, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

It was similar immoderate different time connected the farm, but wrong minutes, the mean turned life-changing.

Meaka Star's speedy designation of a changeable whitethorn person saved her grandmother Marleen Conacher's life.

They're sharing their communicative this June, Stroke Awareness Month, to rise consciousness of the signs of changeable and the value of acting fast.

"She saved my life, oregon saved maine astatine slightest from a beingness of possibly a wheelchair oregon not being capable to talk, with her accelerated actions. She saved maine and she'll ever beryllium my hero," Marleen said.

Marleen was spending clip with her 2 granddaughters in July 2021. The program was simple: dinner, a movie and a relaxing night.

Meaka, who was 10 years aged astatine the time, noticed thing was off. Her grandmother's dependable had disappeared and her look was drooping. Then she collapsed.

"I called dada and told him what was happening. So helium told maine to telephone 911," Meaka said successful an interrogation connected CBC's Saskatoon Morning.

Her speedy reasoning got Marleen to the infirmary conscionable successful time.

Then it happened again six days later. Marleen, who was recovering from the past stroke, couldn't unfastened a pill bottle. Meaka spotted the signs immediately.

"I knew precisely what was happening again. So I called Dad. He told maine to bash the aforesaid thing, telephone 911. So I did. And past my Auntie Lori came and took Mama to the hospital," she said

"They were truly arrogant of maine and truly amazed that a 10-year-old did that."

Meaka received a Hero Award astatine school. Marleen said her granddaughter is her hero.

Another adjacent call 

Carmi Levy, 46, is simply a changeable survivor. He's besides a writer and exertion writer for CBC. He lives successful London, Ont.

He present uses his media dependable to rise consciousness astir strokes. He said his main connection during Stroke Awareness Month is to instrumentality symptoms earnestly and question attraction immediately.

Levy was feeling acceptable and retired for a motorcycle thrust successful the summertime of 2013 erstwhile a elemental turning of his caput tore an artery successful his neck. Hours aboriginal portion barbecuing for his family, helium collapsed.

"Thankfully my my woman had seen what happened. She saw maine collapse, came retired from wrong the house," helium said connected CBC's Saskatchewan Weekend.

"While I thought I had simply fainted, precise rapidly I realized I couldn't reply her questions. I couldn't speak."

He besides realized helium couldn't get up and the close broadside of his assemblage was paralyzed. His wife, a teacher, was trained successful the FAST protocol arsenic portion of her school's archetypal assistance training. She noticed the signs and called 911 immediately.

"When you person a stroke, it is fundamentally cutting disconnected humor proviso to your brain. Your encephalon cells die. The longer this takes, the much encephalon cells you suffer and they don't turn back," helium said.

He said helium was gladsome that helium got the attraction helium needed wrong the "window of opportunity."

Levy said he's recovered, but his consciousness of equilibrium is inactive a spot disconnected sometimes arsenic helium leans against walls.

"When I'm connected the bike, I don't consciousness it astatine all. And the faster I go, the amended it feels," helium said. "I volition ever happily caput to the aforesaid country wherever this happened, astir arsenic a mode of telling the universe, not my clip yet."