BRANDON, Fla. — A University of South Florida student is recovering at a Brandon hospital after suffering from a stroke earlier this month.
Gabriella Melo, 20, said she felt dizzy. She said the right side of her body went numb.
WATCH: University of South Florida student suffers stroke at 20-years-old
Her aunt found her lying on the floor near her room.
"I just remember feeling very dizzy then I fell on the floor and I threw up. I couldn't feel my arm or my leg so I was just like something is going on with me," she said.
Doctors at HCA Florida Brandon Hospital said the 20-year-old had a blood clot which led to the stroke.
Dr. Abdul Saadi is an interventional cardiologist. He said a congenital heart defect likely caused Gabriella's stroke.
The condition is called Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO). It's a flap-like hole between the heart's upper chambers that fails to close naturally after birth, he said.
"When we are in the womb, this connection serves to connect the blood that's coming from the placenta, bypassing the lungs to give the fetus oxygenated blood. When we are born and we start breathing on our own, we don't need that connection anymore," he said.
Dr. Saadi said the vast majority of people with this condition do not know they have it, but it can cause a stroke.
"She's not a smoker. She's not someone who has diabetes or high blood pressure or any of those common conditions that cause strokes in older individuals. In her case, the PFO is very highly likely the reason she had a stroke," said Dr. Saadi.
Dr. Saadi said he performed about a 40 minute procedure to fix the condition.
Gabriella continues to recover at the hospital and hopes to be discharged on Wednesday.
She plans to graduate early from USF with a degree in biomedical sciences. While at the hospital, she got caught up on her summer coursework.
She took a biochemistry exam and earned a 91% on the exam.
"I felt like I had to take it now or I'd regret it so I took it and Lord, thank you. I got a 91%," she said.
She hopes to become an emergency room doctor someday and help others.
"As a 20-year-old stroke victim, I can tell that I want to help them and I want to be there for them," she said.
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