At 11, She Had a Stroke, at 18, She's Surprised Everyone

Laurel Fontaine was 11 years old when her head started to ache during a game of tag with her twin sister. She collapsed on the ground, and spent the next ten days in a coma.

Laurel had suffered a stroke, and doctors said she might never walk, talk or care for herself again. Seven years later, those predictions couldn't be further from the truth.

Laurel, now 18, has surpassed everyone's expectations. A high school senior in North Attleboro, MA, she can not only talk again, but recently gave a speech for 250 people at Harvard University.

The teen spoke to donors for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the same facility where Laurel learned how to speak again by undergoing melodic intonation therapy.

This type of therapy is typically used for adult stroke victims, and teaches speech by having patients sing words and phrases. Laurel's stroke damaged 80 percent of the left side of her brain, which controls speech. The right side, however, controls singing and rhythmic pacing. By singing words and phrases, Laurel was able to retrain her brain to speak again.

"I thanked them for helping me find my voice," she told The Sun Chronicle about her speech to the medical center. "They were so king to help me out, so I just wanted to thank everybody."

Laurel started conventional speech therapy at first, but after a year, could only speak one or two words at a time. She switched to melodic intonation therapy, and had an amazing response after only four months.

On her first day of therapy she knew eight words - now she knows 8,000. She no longer has to sing aloud, but does so in her head if a particular word seems just out of reach for her.

Laurel now has dreams of being a motivational speaker. "I want to give others hope, so they understand that with hard work and a positive attitude, things can get better."

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