The mother of a 10-year-old girl rushed to hospital in King's Lynn after falling ill while getting ready for school has spoken of her shock at discovering she had suffered a stroke.

Eastern Daily Press: Gracie Whittick, 10, was rushed to hsopital in Kings Lynn after suffering a stroke while getting ready for school. Picture: Hayley ClarkGracie Whittick, 10, was rushed to hsopital in Kings Lynn after suffering a stroke while getting ready for school. Picture: Hayley Clark (Image: Hayley Clark)

Gracie Whittick had just finished her breakfast and was getting ready to go to school when she fell ill and collapsed on the stairs.

Her mother Hayley Clark, 44, said: "She got up and everything was normal. She went upstairs to get ready for school. Then my eldest daughter said 'Mummy, Gracie is acting all weird'. By that time she was coming down the stairs and stumbled and fell at the bottom.

Eastern Daily Press: Gracie Whittick, 10, from Long Sutton, is now recovering at Addenbrookes after suffering a stroke while getting ready for school. Picture: Hayley ClarkGracie Whittick, 10, from Long Sutton, is now recovering at Addenbrookes after suffering a stroke while getting ready for school. Picture: Hayley Clark (Image: Hayley Clark)

"I honestly thought she had fainted or had just got a bit dizzy. I got her to come around a bit but then I saw that the right side of her face was drooping and she couldn't move her arm or leg and could not speak. I was on the phone to the ambulance and thinking 'no, this doesn't happen to a 10-year-old girl'."

The primary school pupil was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn from the family home in Long Sutton, just over the Norfolk/Lincolnshire border, where doctors suspected she had suffered a stroke.

Eastern Daily Press: Gracie Whittick with her mum Hayley Clark. She was a healthy 10-year-old who loved dancing and gymnastics before suffering a stroke. Picture: Hayley ClarkGracie Whittick with her mum Hayley Clark. She was a healthy 10-year-old who loved dancing and gymnastics before suffering a stroke. Picture: Hayley Clark (Image: Archant)

"She had a CT scan and an MRI scan and within half an hour that came back to confirm it was a stroke and she had to be blue lighted to Addenbrooke's," said Mrs Clark.

Gracie subsequently underwent a three-hour operation at the hospital in Cambridge to remove 96pc of a blood clot on the left side of her brain.

The youngster, who before falling ill on September 26 was a healthy 10-year-old, remains in hospital but doctors have reassured the family she should make a recovery but will need care at home as well as regular CT scans and check-ups.

Her mum said: "She is very quiet and withdrawn obviously. Before this happened she was always dancing, doing gymnastics, singing and she never stopped talking. Now it is hard to get her to talk and she is withdrawn. It is obviously a huge shock for her as well.

"I am still in shock. I can't believe it has actually happened. When you see your child lying there like that and you don't even know what has caused it, it is a parents' nightmare."