Scotland: 5-Year-Old Girl Suffers Stroke Months After Chickenpox Infection

Five-year-old Olivia Elliot spent almost eight weeks in hospital after suffering a stroke that doctors believe was linked to inflammation in a major artery following a chickenpox infection months earlier. Olivia, from West Lothian, Scotland, had initially appeared to have a routine illness when she woke vomiting and complaining of a headache in June 2025.

Her condition quickly worsened. She began falling to one side and could not grip her mother's hand with her left hand. After undergoing CT and MRI scans, blood tests and a lumbar puncture, doctors confirmed she had suffered a stroke. Olivia temporarily lost movement on the left side of her body, developed slurred speech and experienced facial drooping. Michigan Parents Charged With Murder After 7-Year-Old Son Weighing 116 kg Dies (Watch Video).

Chickenpox Infection Months Before Stroke

Olivia had contracted chickenpox shortly before Christmas 2024 and recovered without serious complications. Her mother, Rebecca, 31, said she initially believed her daughter had experienced a mild case.

“She had chickenpox in December, just before Christmas. She had lots of spots, but she wasn’t unwell, really. I thought we’d had an easy case.”

Doctors later identified severe inflammation in one of the main arteries supplying Olivia's brain and neck. Specialists believed the inflammation had been triggered by the chickenpox virus.

Olivia had been born nine weeks premature and was later diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy after doctors detected brain damage when she was a baby. She had undergone years of physiotherapy and had become increasingly independent.

“She’d worked so hard to get to where she was,” Rebecca said.

Vomiting and Headache Raised Alarm

In June 2025, Olivia woke up vomiting and complaining of a headache. Rebecca initially thought she had picked up a common illness.

Rebecca's husband woke her after finding Olivia being sick. The child had been throwing up clear liquid and complained of a headache.

The family initially decided to keep her at home for a “sick” day. But Olivia soon struggled to sit upright and repeatedly fell onto her left side.

When the family tried playing darts, Olivia, who is left-handed, could not grip the dart with her left hand. Rebecca initially wondered whether the problem was connected to her cerebral palsy.

“I put my finger into her hand and said, ‘Can you grab Mummy’s hand?’ She couldn’t do it,” she said.

Rebecca contacted her business partner, whose speciality is brain injuries, and followed her advice to take Olivia immediately to the emergency room at St. John’s Hospital in Livingston.

Condition Deteriorated Rapidly

While doctors were examining Olivia, Rebecca recalled that her daughter had an “unexplainable episode” while sitting in her mother's lap.

“I started screaming, ‘Something’s not right. Something’s happening to Olivia,'” she said.

As Olivia's speech became slurred and one side of her face began to droop, she was transferred by blue-light ambulance to Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children for specialist treatment.

The family received another shock after Olivia woke from her MRI scan and could no longer move the left side of her body.

“Her face was so drooped. It was heart-breaking. She couldn’t eat or speak,” she said. “The most heart-breaking thing for me was looking at her. She didn’t look like Olivia at all.”

Eight Weeks in Hospital

Doctors carried out extensive investigations before identifying inflammation in one of Olivia's main brain arteries. They linked the inflammation to her earlier chickenpox infection.

Olivia began improving after starting antibiotics. Doctors also reassured the family that the stroke was unrelated to her cerebral palsy, although her existing condition made rehabilitation more challenging.

She remained in hospital for eight weeks, from June 29 until August 11, 2025, before returning home.

Just days after being discharged, Olivia started elementary school.

Although she had not needed a wheelchair before the stroke, she initially relied on one at school while rebuilding her strength. Rebecca also attended school as her one-on-one support.

Olivia Continues Her Recovery

Now five years old, Olivia is able to walk independently around the house and uses a walker at school.

Rebecca believes the years Olivia spent undergoing physiotherapy before the stroke helped prepare her for the rehabilitation process.

“Because she was already used to physio and hospital appointments, she fell into recovery really naturally,” she said. “She never complains. She just gets on with it. She’s such a tough kid. She’s such a happy kid.”

Rebecca has also founded Olivia’s Steps Foundation to support families of children with disabilities.

“Our journey is such a sad one, but it’s led me to something so rewarding,” she said.

Mother Urges Parents to Recognise Stroke Signs

Rebecca said Olivia's initial symptoms did not immediately resemble what many people associate with a stroke.

“Her main symptoms were vomiting and a headache. Which you don’t associate with strokes. Most people think of the ‘BE FAST’ analogy.”

BE FAST is commonly used as a reminder of stroke warning signs: balance, eyes, face, arms and speech - followed by time, meaning emergency medical attention should be sought immediately.

“Life is so busy and things are so easily skipped by. Strokes can happen at any age, at any time.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 10, 2026 11:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).