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Stacey had no idea she was watching her baby have a massive stroke at just 10 days old

By Maddison Leach|

Stacey Kalpidis watched her baby daughter have an almost "catastrophic" stroke at 10 days old, but at the time she had no clue what she'd just witnessed.

Her pregnancy had been relatively uneventful and after an admittedly traumatic 27-hour labour and birth, Eva Kalpidis arrived happy and healthy in 2009.

It should have been the happiest time in the new mum's life, and it was for a while. Stacey and her husband took their baby home and though she wasn't feeding properly, things seemed fine.

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Eva Kalpidis as a baby in hospital.
Eva Kalpidis as a newborn. (Supplied)

On the tenth day of Eva's life, everything changed.

"She was crying and then she did this weird sort of posturing and it didn't look right," Stacey tells 9Honey of the moment she witnessed Eva's stroke without knowing.?

"We went straight to Manly Hospital and they thought she had meningitis for a whileˇ­ they did a lumbar puncture."

When that came back clear and doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with the newborn, she was transferred to Sydney Children's Hospital where they ran a CT scan.

That's when they discovered the clot in Eva's tiny brain that had caused a massive stroke. Doctors told Stacey and her husband to prepare for the worst.

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Eva Kalpidis in hospital after suffering a massive stroke at 10 days old.
Eva Kalpidis in hospital after suffering a massive stroke at 10 days old. (Supplied)

"We were in hospital intensive care for several weeks not even knowing if she was going to live, to be honest. We were given a 40 per cent chance of her coming out of it alive," Stacey recalls.

"The size of the stroke was almost catastrophic ... [we were told] that she wouldn't walk, she won't talk, she won't be able to communicate ˇ­ they gave us the worst case scenario."

The news sent Stacey down a series of increasingly dark rabbit holes and she feared for her daughter's future, which suddenly hung in the balance.

"They gave us the worst case scenario."

But Eva surprised everyone by pulling through, and after weeks in intensive care, she began to improve in ways even her parents didn't anticipate.

At six weeks old she began therapy to teach her how to crawl, then walk and talk. At 18 months old, Eva was officially diagnosed with cerebral palsy but even that couldn't hold her back.

Cerebral palsy is a physical disability that affects one in every 700 Australian babies and impacts their movement and posture. Over 34,000 people live with the condition in Australia.

Eva Kalpidis snuggled up to her dog.
Eva Kalpidis snuggled up to her dog. (Supplied)

Eva's disability meant it took longer for her to learn how to walk and move on her own, and the stroke also affected her processing and learning abilities.

"It was a lot of work, a lot of therapy, swimming, occupational therapy, physio, speech therapy, conductive education all through the Cerebral Palsy Alliance," Stacey says of her daughter's childhood.

But the work paid off, and as Eva hit double digits, she blossomed into a joyful, chatty young girl who could walk and swim and play in ways that accommodated her disability.

In those first days after her baby's stroke, Stacey didn't think her daughter would survive, let alone thrive.

"We didn't dodge a bullet, but we grazed a bulletˇ­ it does make you just think how lucky we are," she says, but the journey hasn't been easy.

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Eva Kalpidis in hospital.
Eva Kalpidis in hospital. (Supplied)

Eva's stroke and subsequent disabilities have wreaked havoc on her body and in 2022 her hip began to dislocate from its socket, requiring urgent surgery for the now-13-year-old.

It was slated for August, but when Eva was struck down by COVID-19 the operation had to be postponed by two months. Stacey admits, "It's been a pretty crappy year".

"It was quite desperate that we needed to get it done. She was wheelchair-bound and not able to participate in a lot of things and really flat and angry," the mum-of-three says of the surgery.

"We didn't dodge a bullet, but we grazed a bullet."

When Eva was finally able to undergo the operation, a new challenge arose. After her hip was corrected, the teen was required to wear a 'Newport brace' that limited her movement for six weeks.

The brace wrapped around her waist and thighs, locking her hips and legs in place with a metal bar that prevented her from playing, sitting in a car or even going to the bathroom unassisted.

"We just shoved a hospital bed in our lounge room, a commode where we'd have to transfer her," Stacey reveals of the ordeal, which left Eva deeply depressed.

Eva Kalpidis leaving hospital in her Newport brace with mum Stacey.
Eva Kalpidis leaving hospital in her Newport brace with mum Stacey. (Supplied)

Though Eva was able to walk to school, teachers had to call her mum every time the 13-year-old needed to go to the bathroom.

"They'd call me and I'd literally drop everything, get in the car and race over there and then help transfer onto the toilet with a teacher," she confesses.

"It was totally barbaric, this brace, you'd think that they'd come up with something a little bit more advanced in the world we live in."

Getting the brace removed after six frustrating weeks was a relief for the whole family, but when Eva started rehab and physio doctors realised her hip hadn't healed properly.

She'll need to remain in a wheelchair for another five weeks before they reassess her condition.

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Eva Kalpidis grins sitting in her wheelchair.
Eva Kalpidis grins sitting in her wheelchair. (Supplied)

Two previous operations failed and Stacey fears that if this one isn't successful, her daughter may end up permanently needing a wheelchair.

"This is her third surgery and it's not her last. She'll have to get her right foot fused next time, but they won't do that now because she's still growing," Stacey reveals. "It's heartbreaking."

Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition with no cure, meaning Eva will have to live with the physical and social fallout of her perinatal stroke for the rest of her life.

"You can't think about that until it's actually happening."

"What happens when she finishes school? What job is she going to get?" Stacey muses. These are questions she often asks herself about her daughter's future.

"But I think one of the things that I've learned as we've gone along this ride is that you can't think about that until it's actually happeningˇ­ because you could really go down a lot of rabbit holes."

Though Stacey worries about her daughter's future ¨C from her career, to living independently, finding love and having a family ¨C Eva has proven time and again that she can achieve anything she sets her mind to.

Eva Kalpidis going through rehabilitation and physiotherapy.
Eva Kalpidis going through rehabilitation and physiotherapy. (Supplied)

Despite her painful surgery setbacks, the 13-year-old has committed to traversing Mount Kosciuszko in a wheelchair in February to raise money as part of the Krazy Kosci Klimb.

When she signed up last year, she was hoping to walk the 18 km round trip. Though that's not possible after her operation, Eva won't be deterred.

"She knows she's not going to be able to walk it, given everything that's happened this year," Stacey concedes.?

"But she will be able to walk parts of it and hopefully by February she'll be able to get through a few stepsˇ­ I think she'd be really proud of herself."

Eva will join 17 other participants with Cerebral Palsy who will trek or wheel up and back down Australia's highest peak in a bid to raise $450,000 for people living with the condition.

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Eva Kalpidis with her parents, brother Spyro and sister Brooklyn.
Eva Kalpidis with her parents, brother Spyro and sister Brooklyn. (Supplied)

Not only will she be giving back to the services that have played a massive role in her childhood, Eva "also likes the spotlight a bit" and can't wait to be the centre of attention on the big day.

"I think she's really excited about having a weekend about her and raising important fundsˇ­ she really wants to help contribute and do her part," mum Stacey says with a laugh.

The determined youngster has already raised a whopping $75,000 for the cause and hopes to hit her $85,000 goal by February next year.

Learn more about the Krazy Kosci Klimb and donate here.

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