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Monday, May 10, 2010
Stroke Awareness Month.
Topic: My 9 year old son died from a Stroke how can this happen?
Re: My 9 year old son died from a Stroke how can this happen?
This heartbreaking account of a young child's death from stroke appeared
on the talkstroke notice board in 2006, but so far as I know, little attention has been drawn to it. I urge all talkstroke members to read the full account, it is nothing short of harrowing.
I cannot believe that the intense suffering this family has been through has so far been in vain! Matt's parents, even though they were utterly
devastated, immediately tried to raise awareness through the BBC and other agencies that stroke is a major cause of mortality in children and that around 500 children suffer a stroke in the UK every year!
So why in 2010 is very little being done to publicise this fact.
The disturbing element is that even a high percentage of doctors and medical staff are still unaware that children have strokes, so hundreds of
families have had their child's stroke misdiagnosed since 2006. A disturbing
correlation is also emerging between chickenpox and risk of stroke in children, which has also been mentioned several times on the pages of talkstroke. I support parents whose children have had major strokes and have had contact with dozens of child stroke families over the past year. In that year I would say about a third of the children had stroke as a direct result of chickenpox, usually children under 5! The majority of the rest due to AVM or a heart defect - often minor and previously undiagnosed.
In a recent debate in the House of Lords our Minister of Health led members to believe that child stroke mainly happened in neonates or children with sickle cell anaemia. I know of hundreds of children who have suffered stroke in the past 10 years and few of them fall into those categories, which is obviously why most of them were misdiagnosed and are suffering extensive disability at a young age and even in the case of Matt - unnecessary death.
A recent report from the Royal College of Physicians admitted that research and medical provision for childhood stroke was not fit for purpose and very inadequate, while adult provision is improving.
Hundreds of children are experiencing stroke every year, if they are fortunate to survive they have a lifetime ahead of them dealing with physical and mental disability. At the moment they are sent back to a mainstream school 6-9 months after stroke, often still in a wheelchair with very little support or understanding of their needs and then have to deal with competing in national exams. What future is there for them after their struggle to learn to speak again and get back on their feet? I believe all readers who have had personal or close experience of stroke will realise the extent of what is nothing short of a national scandal. Please help to ensure that these children, who year on year run into thousands are no longer 'invisible' to our government and that no more children die needlessly! Publicise the fact that kids have strokes, too.
This heartbreaking account of a young child's death from stroke appeared
on the talkstroke notice board in 2006, but so far as I know, little attention has been drawn to it. I urge all talkstroke members to read the full account, it is nothing short of harrowing.
I cannot believe that the intense suffering this family has been through has so far been in vain! Matt's parents, even though they were utterly
devastated, immediately tried to raise awareness through the BBC and other agencies that stroke is a major cause of mortality in children and that around 500 children suffer a stroke in the UK every year!
So why in 2010 is very little being done to publicise this fact.
The disturbing element is that even a high percentage of doctors and medical staff are still unaware that children have strokes, so hundreds of
families have had their child's stroke misdiagnosed since 2006. A disturbing
correlation is also emerging between chickenpox and risk of stroke in children, which has also been mentioned several times on the pages of talkstroke. I support parents whose children have had major strokes and have had contact with dozens of child stroke families over the past year. In that year I would say about a third of the children had stroke as a direct result of chickenpox, usually children under 5! The majority of the rest due to AVM or a heart defect - often minor and previously undiagnosed.
In a recent debate in the House of Lords our Minister of Health led members to believe that child stroke mainly happened in neonates or children with sickle cell anaemia. I know of hundreds of children who have suffered stroke in the past 10 years and few of them fall into those categories, which is obviously why most of them were misdiagnosed and are suffering extensive disability at a young age and even in the case of Matt - unnecessary death.
A recent report from the Royal College of Physicians admitted that research and medical provision for childhood stroke was not fit for purpose and very inadequate, while adult provision is improving.
Hundreds of children are experiencing stroke every year, if they are fortunate to survive they have a lifetime ahead of them dealing with physical and mental disability. At the moment they are sent back to a mainstream school 6-9 months after stroke, often still in a wheelchair with very little support or understanding of their needs and then have to deal with competing in national exams. What future is there for them after their struggle to learn to speak again and get back on their feet? I believe all readers who have had personal or close experience of stroke will realise the extent of what is nothing short of a national scandal. Please help to ensure that these children, who year on year run into thousands are no longer 'invisible' to our government and that no more children die needlessly! Publicise the fact that kids have strokes, too.
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