How You Can Help Single Mom Who Suffered Stroke At 28 Years Old

STEGER, IL — The family and friends of a single mom from Steger who recently suffered a stroke are seeking help for the woman and her 8-year-old son. Ashleigh Hitterman suffered an ischemic basilar arterial stroke on the 4th of July this year and has since not been able to move much or speak at all. An extremely young stroke victim at age 28, Hitterman needs help not only in her own recovery but in raising her 8-year-old son, Cameron.

"She's a great mom," Dee Panozzo, Hitterman's mother, said of her daughter. "She was always at Cameron's baseball games, was always attentive and loving and would help any of her friends with anything they needed."

Hitterman is "100 percent mentally there," her mother says, but is still unable to move her arms of speak. After a few months and still in rehab at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, the Bloom Trail High School alum is able to move her eyes up and down and has made other improvements some stroke victims never see, but her mother says a full recovery is not likely.

"I believe she will, but the statistics are stacked against her immensely," Panozzo said.

Panozzo said that her daughter will never be able to work again and that she herself has had to cutback on work significantly since her daughter's stroke since she needs around-the-clock care.

"It is going to be tough for us to financially support her son," Panozzo said. "I want her to be able to go to all of Cameron's functions because she is mentally there and wants to be there in her son's life."

A GoFundMe to help the family care for Ashleigh and Cameron has raised more than $15,000 of a $45,000 goal. The money, Panozzo said, will help with medical bills and future needs the family will have in caring for Ashleigh and raising Cameron.

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