Goole Mother Raises Awareness of Newborn Stroke After Maya’s
Zoe Frodsham is speaking publicly about the effects of a stroke her daughter Maya suffered when she was three days old. The family has faced ongoing fatigue…
Goole mum raises awareness of newborn stroke after her daughter Maya suffered one at three days old in early 2024 in East Yorkshire. Her mother, Zoe Frodsham, is sharing the family’s experience to show that the effects of a stroke can continue even when they are not visible.
Maya can walk and talk, but her family still faces pain, fatigue and uncertainty about her health. “Because she can walk and talk, people assume she is fine,” Zoe said. “But brain injuries are not always visible. Progress does not erase what happened.”
The family was in A&E in January 2024 when Maya had a seizure lasting 30 minutes. Zoe said she was terrified. “At just three days old, our newborn baby had had a stroke,” she said.
Doctors told the couple that possible lifelong consequences included visual impairment, hearing loss, mobility issues, developmental delay and epilepsy. Maya left hospital after days of treatment, but her care and recovery continued at home.
There is still fear.
“The way we watch her sleep. The way every illness triggers panic. The way we question everything,” Zoe said, describing the family’s continuing anxiety. She said the uncertainty had also affected her mental health while she cared for Maya.
How has Maya’s stroke affected daily life?
Maya attends nursery three days a week, but fatigue and pain limit her to about two and a half hours at a time. The care she needs has also prevented Zoe from returning to full-time work.
That daily limit gives a clearer picture of the gap between visible progress and the practical demands of recovery. Maya’s ability to walk and talk does not remove the pain and tiredness that shape how long she can take part in nursery, or the uncertainty her family continues to manage.
Zoe said the Stroke Association had been an important source of support. “It was a massive help to have someone to talk to who had some understanding of what was going on,” she said.
She is drawing attention to the charity’s Survival Is Not Enough campaign, which focuses on the life-changing effects strokes can have on people of any age. The charity says someone in the UK has a stroke every five minutes, and 1.4 million people are living with a subsequent brain injury.
Why is the family speaking out?
Zoe wants people to understand that strokes can affect newborn babies as well as adults, and that survival does not necessarily end the need for care. Her family’s experience also points to the strain that ongoing treatment and support needs can place on parents, including the effect on work and mental health.
Juliet Bouverie, chief executive of the Stroke Association, said many survivors and families are left traumatised and without the long-term rehabilitation and support they need after a stroke. “After everything a stroke takes, no-one should have to fight for essential support to recover and live a full life again,” she said.
Maya’s story is featured in the Channel 4 documentary Trauma: My Broken Brain. Zoe said her daughter’s progress has brought pride, but has not erased the trauma or the continuing challenges of childhood stroke.
“We're still trying to navigate the challenges and uncertainties of childhood stroke without the support we hoped would be available,” Zoe said.
