Meet Dylan — Stroke at age 4 months

Dylan had a stroke when he was in the hospital, recovering from bacterial meningitis. He was 4 months old. Prior to his hospital stay, our son had not been acting like himself: he had high fevers on and off for more than a week after his first cold. We kept taking him to his doctor and they would examine him and run tests, but they couldn’t find anything wrong other than the fever. They just suspected he was fighting a virus. After his temperature spiked, we took him to the ER where they ran the same tests and saw nothing unusual. We were given two choices: take him home or subject him to a spinal tap to test for meningitis. Our gut said to stay. We got the spinal tap and the results came back positive. Dylan was transferred to another hospital that had an ICU and started IV treatments.

Although we were apprehensive, a short time later, we were moved to a floor for observation and to continue IV treatments. My husband and I thought we saw a small seizure in Dylan’s arm. He had never had a seizure before, so we called in the attending doctor. He examined Dylan, saw no signs of a seizure, and told us it was probably a muscle spasm and to not worry. Our gut instinct keep nagging us and told us otherwise. Before long, the seizures returned and were intense and through his entire body. The hospital internal emergency line was called and everything after that is a blur. An army of doctors and nurses came rushing in, packed us up, and moved Dylan back to the ICU. After an MRI, we were told Dylan had a stroke. Like many, we had no idea that a stroke happened to any age group beyond the elderly.

Today, Dylan is a happy little boy, who loves to laugh and play. Miraculously, he has no hearing issues, a common side effect of meningitis. However, the recovery from the stroke is still ongoing. Mobility and communication are especially challenging. Dylan has physical and occupational therapy on a regular basis to help with his recovery.

My advice to any parent is to trust your gut. As a parent, you know your child better than anyone else. If something doesn’t seem right to you, keep at it until you are satisfied with an answer. If a treatment doesn’t seem appropriate, ask for alternatives. Although it may not always be 100% accurate, there is nothing like the gut instinct of a parent and there is no better advocate for your child than you.