ATLANTA – Stone Gilley of Chattanooga is 120 miles from home, working his way back.

“If you didn’t know, you would never know that Stone has been through everything he’s been through,” his mother Sara Gilley says.

She and her 12-year-old are at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s outpatient rehabilitation program for two weeks.

“This is our second round of robotics intensive (rehabilitation therapy),” Gilley says.

Dog alerts family to 10-year-old’s stroke

The Gilleys lives changed in August 2022, when Stone and his twin sister, Sadie, were 10.

Their family dog, Princess, woke Sara, agitated and barking.

“She’s our little hero,” she says. “She woke me up about 5:15 in the morning to let me know something was wrong with Stone. He was breathing weirdly from the hallway. And come to find out, he had a ruptured aneurysm in his sleep and two strokes.”

Stone Gilley, at 10, was rushed to Children’s at Erlanger after suffering a stroke. (Supplied)

Stone Gilley, who was non-responsive, was rushed to Children’s Hospital at Erlanger.

“We were in the PICU for four weeks when he had a third stroke from vasospasms,” Sara Gilley says. “So, he lost all function in his body.”

10-year-old in a coma following stroke

Stone Gilley, at 10, was rushed to Children’s at Erlanger after suffering a stroke. (Supplied)

Stone was in a medically induced coma for weeks, and when they tried to bring him out of it, his mother says, it was a struggle.

“We couldn’t get him to come to, until we got his twin sister, Sadie, on the phone,” she says. “And, she said, ‘All right, Bubba, it’s time to wake up,’ And he did. And we were able to extubate him then.”

The brain bleeding had done a lot of damage.

“He couldn’t talk,” Sara Gilley says. “He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t move somewhat on his left side, but not much.”

Sadie sits next to her twin brother’s bed after he suffered a stroke. (Supplied)

That is when the Gilleys found themselves at Children’s Healthcare for their first six-week stay.

“They told us that he was going to walk out of there,” his mother says, her voice choking. “I didn’t believe him, but he did.”

Ronald McDonald House helps family of 10-year-old stroke victim

Each time they come back to Atlanta, the Gilleys stay at the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House near Scottish Rite.

“It’s like a home away from home,” Stone Gilley says.

Stone Gilley at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta during a session of his outpatient rehabilitation program. (FOX 5)

On weekends, Sadie and their dad come to Ronald McDonald House, too.

“Just to have a clean, comfortable place to be in the midst of a very difficult time is, there’s no way to tell you how important it is to people like us,” Sara Gilley says.

And with each visit, Stone Gilley is making progress.

“His numbers from last year to this year are incredible,” his mother says. “You can see that he has gained a lot of strength and function in what seem like little, tiny ways, but are really big ways to us. So, he’s made a huge, huge comeback.”

Stone Gilley walks out of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta after a session of his outpatient rehabilitation program. (FOX 5)

Sara Gilley says Stone and Sadie have taught her to celebrate every small step.

“We look at life, at the big things, the big events, graduation and marriage, but every moment, from the moment they wake up to the moment they lay their head down and everything in between is precious,” Gilley says.  “Be in it, be in every second of it, because life can change in an instant.”

Stone Gilley is now back in school with his twin sister.

On March 11, 2024, Atlanta Ronald McDonald House Charities celebrated its 45th anniversary.