You might think that kids don’t have strokes. Jared Dienst’s parents thought so, until their healthy, athletic second grader was stricken with one. Even most doctors would tell you, “Kids don’t have strokes.” But that isn’t true. It turns out, strokes are the sixth leading cause of death in infants and children.
Experts say that hospitals and pediatricians need to be much more aware of the symptoms of strokes in children and much more aggressive in their diagnosis and treatment. While poisoning and migraines can have similar symptoms, according to Dr. Rebecca N. Ichord, director of the pediatric stroke program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, providers need to be ready to consider stroke as a possible diagnosis for sudden neurological symptoms in children. Other experts are willing to go even further, suggesting that if a child presents with stroke like symptoms, it should be considered a stroke until proven otherwise.
For Jared, it started with a stumble on the playground and the words “Mom, my head hurts.” His mother, Victoria, thought he was dehydrated and gave him some water and a few minutes to settle before trying to stand again. When he stood up though, he was stumbling, eyes rolling back in his head, words slurring. His mother rushed him to the hospital where his symptoms, slurred speech, stiffness, sagging left eye and the sudden inability to walk or stand, would have been instantly identifiable if he’d been an adult. But he was seven. Doctors assumed poison or seizures, it wasn’t until almost eight hours later that the neurology department finally decided that Jared had had a stroke.
Jared still struggles with recovery, he has some brain damage, but not as much as he could have had his mother not rushed him to the hospital. As Jared’s doctor said, “Time is brain.” Most pediatric strokes are not diagnosed until more than 24 hours after the onset of symptoms. Learn what to look for and, if you suspect your child is having a stroke, get them to the emergency room right away.
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