Editor’s note: This story is republished in full from South Texas Health System with permission. It was originally published on June 22, 2026.
When it comes to stroke recovery, hard work and determination are key.
Jenise Oliva started dancing when she was in first grade. She never looked back.
Dance became an outlet, letting her connect with her emotions – a way to live her joy or to de-stress. “Dancing lets me express how I feel,” Jenise says.
During her middle school years, the locally renowned Raiderette dance team inspired her to work even harder. Jenise made it her goal to one day be part of this award-winning troop of top-tier dancers.
She practiced every day, holding herself to a rigorous self-imposed training schedule. “I just kept going, working harder and harder,” Jenise says, until her dream became a reality.
A dream, interrupted
In December 2023, Jenise was 15 years old. She was a Raiderette, active and strong.
One afternoon, just weeks before her Quinceñera, Jenise was getting ready for a Christmas party. The Oliva family waited for her downstairs, wondering what was taking so long. Then her father’s cell phone rang.
It was Jenise, calling from her bedroom. She asked him to come upstairs. Roel Oliva found his daughter sitting on her bed in agonizing pain, holding her head. “It hurts so bad,” was all she could say, until the pain grew so severe that she was screaming.
Oliva knew they had to get help right away. “I asked her to stand up, and she lost her balance,” he says. “She was speaking incoherently.”
Stabilization, diagnosis and surgery at STHS McAllen
The family raced to an urgent care center and, after hearing her symptoms, staff there directed them to go to the nearest emergency department.
“It all escalated so quickly,” Oliva recalls. They rushed to the ER at South Texas Health System McAllen. In shock and with no answers, he waited with Jenise’s brother while doctors worked to stabilize his daughter.
Eventually, Oliva was called back to join Jenise’s mother in the treatment area. Doctors had discovered the source of their daughter’s symptoms: a significant brain bleed that required immediate emergency surgery.
Jenise underwent brain surgery at the Comprehensive Stroke Center at STHS McAllen, including a craniectomy to relieve dangerous pressure.
She had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke.
How could a 15-year-old have a stroke?
“I always assumed that strokes only happen to the elderly,” Jenise’s father says.
In fact, strokes can occur at any age and are affecting younger adults in rising numbers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 15% of stroke victims are between 15 and 49 years old.
A hemorrhagic stroke, the type that affected Jenise, results from a bleed in the brain. In contrast, an ischemic stroke happens when blood flow to the brain becomes blocked.
In a previous article, we covered risk factors for stroke in younger adults, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle.
In Jenise’s case, however, her stroke was the outcome of a rare medical anomaly present since birth, her family learned. Doctors discovered an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in her brain, which forms when veins and arteries get tangled into a knot. An AVM is at risk for rupturing without warning at any point in a person’s lifetime, causing a brain bleed.
Waking up to a new reality
Doctors kept Jenise sedated for several days to allow her brain time to heal. She woke up to an unimaginable reality – paralyzed on one side, unable to speak and unable to see out of one eye.
“I was just so confused, so lost,” Jenise says. “I had so many questions, but I couldn’t ask anything.”
“It was like her mind was completely erased,” her father says. “The doctor said it would be a long recovery.”
Jenise was hospitalized for nearly three months, including 38 days in intensive inpatient rehabilitation to relearn everyday skills: walking, speaking, holding utensils; basic activities of life. “It was tiring, it was hard – but I started to notice progress. Very, very slow progress,” she says.
Although recovery was underway, Jenise’s doctors told her she might never dance competitively again.
“Dancing is what I loved. It’s what I had,” Jenise says. “I was crushed. I thought, ‘What’s my goal now?’”
Regaining skills through outpatient rehabilitation – and sheer resilience
With determination and the support of her care team and family, Jenise committed herself to recovery.
For the last three years, she has worked relentlessly with occupational, speech and physical therapists at the STHS McAllen Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, completing hours-long sessions two to three times per week.
Little by little, her hard work has paid off. She has regained strength and independence in incremental steps.
And one twirl at a time, she’s reclaiming her ability to dance – her dedication, motivation and determination from all those years of practice surfacing in new ways.
Now 18, Jenise recently graduated from PSJA North High School, walking across the stage to receive her diploma.
“She’s worked so hard, and to see her smiling again… it’s incredible. She’s an inspiration,” Oliva says.
What advice does Jenise have for stroke survivors? “Never give up,” she says. “Never, ever give up.”
Signs of possible stroke? Seek medical attention immediately.
Jenise’s experience – although extremely rare – is a reminder that a stroke can happen any time, to anyone, at any age. That means it’s important to become familiar with the signs of a possible stroke and know where to go for life-saving treatment.
Like Jenise, a stroke victim may have sudden severe headache, balance issues and speaking problems. People experiencing stroke may also have arm weakness or drooping on one side of the face, according to the American Stroke Association.
If these symptoms occur in you or a loved one, call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency department.
South Texas Health System provides nationally recognized stroke care, including seven Freestanding Emergency Departments and three acute care emergency departments located throughout the Valley that are capable of providing stabilizing treatment for stroke.
Source: South Texas Health System.
