10-YEAR-OLD RECOVERING FROM STROKE

The only place 10-year-old Charissa Hollowell wants to be for the holidays is home.

Charissa, a spunky Clippard Elementary School fifth-grader known for her cartwheels and love of cheerleading, suffered a life-threatening stroke six weeks ago. She has gone in for surgery on her brain three times and is progressing well enough that being home for Christmas is a possibility.

"I'm a miracle baby. That's what my mom said," Charissa said Thursday from her room at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

Charissa credits her survival to the quick action of her stepfather, Don Mier, after she began complaining of a head-ache Nov. 18 during a drive home from school. Although they first thought Charissa was having a migraine similar to others she'd experienced, it soon became evident something more serious was happening. Mier rushed her to a nearby hospital.

"If it wasn't for him, I would have died," Charissa said.

Within hours of the stroke, Charissa went into a coma and family members were told to expect the worst. It was a devastating time for Gaetanna Mier, Charissa's mother, who said she didn't know that children could be prone to such things.

"I couldn't believe this was happening," she said. "One minute, Charissa was talking and laughing, the next she was in a coma that she wasn't expected to survive."

Classmates coping

Debra Rau, guidance counselor at Clippard Elementary School, said she has visited Charissa's class and others numerous times to answer questions about Charissa's progress and to help students cope with her illness. She said students don't really understand what's going on, but staff and parents are working together to help them.

"This has had a big impact on our whole school, our whole district," Rau said. "Most of kids' questions have been about when she'll be back and what happened, but a question I guess is in the back of everybody's mind is how this happened and could it happen to me."

Volunteers have organized a raffle to help the family with medical and other expenses. A fully decorated Christmas tree, Power Wheels Jeep, bicycle, microwave and furniture are among the items that will be given away.

Rode a bike

In addition to her physical progress, Gaetanna Mier said her daughter's spirits are improving with each accomplishment she makes in physical therapy.

"She rode a bike today," Mier said Thursday. "It wasn't for a long time and they had to strap her to it, but it was a bike. It was a big accomplishment."

Visits from her best friends, Ashley Braxton and Erica Hendricks, have helped immeasurably in Charissa's progress, Mier said. Other visitors have included Clippard Principal Sydney Herbst and Rau, as well as schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Steska, among others.

"It's kind of sad, but when you think about it she made it through, so you can be happy now," said Braxton Friday afternoon en route to St. Louis to visit her friend. "Me and Erica are going to go and visit her when she gets home, but we're not going to let anyone know when she comes home because she wants it to be just the three of us."

For Mier, having her daughter alive is the best present she could receive. "It's a blessing she's even here," she said. "She's my miracle baby."