{"id":29626,"date":"2025-07-28T22:06:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T22:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/29626\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T22:06:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T22:06:12","slug":"im-one-of-the-increasing-number-of-young-people-to-have-a-stroke-and-was-paralyzed-at-19-how-i-made-a-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/29626\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m one of the increasing number of young people to have a stroke and was paralyzed at 19… how I made a comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sophia Gedgaudas was just 19 years old when she suffered a life-changing stroke and was given a 15 percent chance of survival.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2019, Gedgaudas had moved\u00a0from Kenosha, Wisconsin, to San Francisco\u00a0to become a pilot with dreams of also joining an NFL team as a cheerleader.<\/p>\n

However, on February 5, two days after the Super Bowl<\/a>, Gedgaudas and her family were at her home when she suffered a stroke<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Gedgaudas’s mother\u00a0Lily, her parents found her laying on the ground completely paralyzed with her mouth drooping.<\/p>\n

Gedgaudas told DailyMail.com: ‘My entire family had flown in to watch the game and spend the week together.’<\/p>\n

The aspiring pilot was immediately rushed to the hospital where doctors told her that she had suffered a stroke due to\u00a0extremely high cholesterol from a hereditary condition known as high lipoprotein (a).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lipoproteins are protein molecules that transport fat in the body, including cholesterol and triglycerides. Elevated levels of these can pose a risk to cardiovascular health.<\/p>\n

\"Sophia <\/p>\n

Sophia Gedgaudas, a stroke survivor, is the reigning women’s champion at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky<\/p>\n

Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n

High Lipoprotein (a) is a genetic condition that creates a new form of cholesterol in the body that is similar to LDL (bad) cholesterol but has an additional protein.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This new kind of cholesterol causes a buildup of plaque in arteries, triggering inflammation and increased blood clotting, ultimately hindering blood flow to the heart.<\/p>\n

As a result, people with this condition have a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes – even if they take precautionary measures such as eating health and not smoking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About\u00a0one in five Americans, or around 64 million people, suffer from high lipoprotein(a).<\/p>\n

In Gedgaudas’s case, her condition created a blood clot in her brain that resulted in a stroke.<\/p>\n

According to the CDC, about 800,000 Americans experience a stroke each year while an estimated 138,000 Americans die from it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While usually associated with older populations, recent data indicates a concerning increase in stroke rates among individuals aged between 18 and 44.<\/p>\n

About\u00a0120,000 Americans under the age of 50 and 1.5 million young adults worldwide suffer a stroke each year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sedentary lifestyles, poor diet, substance abuse (including smoking and excessive alcohol consumption), and stress are increasingly recognized as major contributors to stroke in young adults.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She told the website: ‘It was a complete shock. I’ve been an athlete my entire life\u2014a state champion gymnast, a black belt in karate, and a competitive dancer and cheerleader. No one ever expected someone like me to have high cholesterol.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘But because of my genetics, my lipoprotein(a) level raised my cholesterol to dangerous levels and that’s ultimately what caused my stroke.<\/p>\n

‘At the time, I was completely paralyzed and could only respond with one word: “yeah.” That’s all I could say.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Gedgaudas <\/p>\n

Gedgaudas pictured here two days before she suffered a life-changing stroke<\/p>\n

\"Doctors <\/p>\n

Doctors told her that she had extremely high cholesterol due to a hereditary condition known as high lipoprotein (a)<\/p>\n

Gedgaudas’s doctors initially prescribed her a tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) –\u00a0a medication used to treat heart attacks by dissolving blood clots.<\/p>\n

However, due to the large size of the clot, the medication failed to work and she was forced to undergo a thrombectomy, a procedure where doctors insert a catheter into an artery through the groin to remove the clot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But while doctors were able to successfully remove the life-threatening clot, she was left partially deaf as the stroke damaged parts of her brain responsible for hearing.<\/p>\n

The intensive surgery combined with the paralysis she suffered left Gedgaudas struggling to recover for three years, relearning how to walk, talk, eat and read.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During this time, she watched numerous wrestling matches and decided she wanted to pursue the sport rather than becoming a pilot and cheerleader.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"She <\/p>\n

She now battles a hearing disability, another long-term effect of the stroke<\/p>\n

The now 25-year-old said: ‘My dad would sit with me in the ICU and put wrestling on the TV. My mom says the first time I smiled after the stroke was while watching wrestling.<\/p>\n

‘Later, my brother took me to a live show, and after we left, I said, “That’s what I’m going to do.”<\/p>\n

‘There were days I didn’t want to get out of bed. I was angry, I was depressed. But watching wrestling made me believe I could do something again. It gave me hope and purpose.’<\/p>\n

Once being given the green light by her\u00a0entire medical team in 2022, she began training to be a professional wrestler.<\/p>\n

In 2023, she made her debut and\u00a0quickly became a standout.<\/p>\n

Now, Gedgaudas is the reigning women’s champion at Ohio<\/a> Valley Wrestling (OVW) in Louisville, Kentucky<\/a>\u00a0– where wrestling legends John Cena, Dave Batista, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton started their road to stardom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Gedgaudas's <\/p>\n

Gedgaudas’s condition caused a blood clot in her brain, resulting in a stroke and left her paralyzed<\/p>\n

\"For <\/p>\n

For the future, Gedgaudas has global ambitions and hopes to one day wrestle internationally<\/p>\n

She told DailyMail.com: ‘Being part of OVW means everything to me. There’s so much history here and amazing wrestlers that have come through, and I want to be one of the names. I want to show people a disability shouldn’t stop anyone from reaching the top.’<\/p>\n

Gedgaudas continued:\u00a0‘For a long time, I was embarrassed that I was partially deaf. I saw it as a weakness and didn’t want anyone to think I was limited. But over time, I realized it’s just part of who I am – and there’s nothing to be ashamed of.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Now, I embrace it. I’ve learned to adapt in ways that work for me. I’ve gotten good at reading lips, and in the ring, I naturally turn my good ear toward the sound so I can hear what I need to. Most importantly, I stay super focused.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘By staying locked in, I’m able to catch cues and respond without missing a beat. It’s not always easy, but I’ve found ways to make it work – and even turn it into a strength.<\/p>\n

‘I have to read matches differently, and I rely on instincts and body language. It forces me to be completely in the moment, and I think it makes me a better performer.’<\/p>\n

To stay healthy and prevent another stroke, Gedgaudas workouts and follows a special diet comprised of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins including chicken and fish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the future, Gedgaudas has global ambitions and hopes to one day wrestle internationally. But for now, her mission is personal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I want to wrestle in the UK, Japan, anywhere. But more than that, I want to keep helping people.<\/p>\n

‘That’s why I do this. Wrestling saved my life, and now I want to help someone else believe they can fight through whatever they’re facing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sophia Gedgaudas was just 19 years old when she suffered a life-changing stroke and was given a 15…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29627,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[97,59,102,90,56,54,55,9227],"class_list":{"0":"post-29626","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom","15":"tag-wisconsin"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}