The month of May has long been recognized as Stroke Awareness Month. I want to ask you to stretch your beliefs about what you already know about stroke and to understand it impacts children of all ages as well. I want to encourage you to know the signs and know that a rapid response is just as important in a child, as it is in an adult.
At the very heart of our mission with Pediatric Stroke Warriors, is children. We believe that increasing awareness leads to a quicker recognition of stroke in a child, and that having a foundation in support can help a child flourish to their greatest potential after stroke. We place importance on both awareness and hope for Pediatric Stroke.
I know that quite possibly, the last time you heard a stroke story, it didn’t involve a healthy-seeming newborn or a fifth-grader who went to the nurse’s office with dizziness and a headache. It most often wasn’t of a teenager who spent a “normal” day at school, only later in the evening to experience numbness down one side of their body. When you’ve never heard about stroke in children, it becomes easy to assume it must be very rare. Yet stories like these are real and are shared every day.
For over the last 4 years, Pediatric Stroke Warriors has continued to strengthen communities by providing support to families and promoting advocacy, public awareness and education of current resources related to stroke in children. Although awareness and education continues to overall increase, the most common misconception about stroke that many organizations encounter regularly , is that it only impacts older people.
Consider these facts:
• Stroke occurs at the highest rate in infants younger than 1 month of age, effecting 1-2000 births each year and nearly 5 per 100,000 children through ages 1 month to 18.
• Stroke is as common as brain tumors in the pediatric population.
• Stroke is one of the top ten causes of death for children.
• Studies have found that in the US, it can often take longer than 24 hours to diagnose stroke in children. Which is valuable time missed when every minute matters. Quick, proper treatment is critical to saving a child’s life and minimizing brain damage and lasting effects.
Six years ago, I became that parent, we were given that medical diagnosis, perinatal ischemic stroke. We were shocked. The memories and emotions that came with it can still feel staggering to me at times. I assure you this is not just a moment our family faced; it’s a reality for countless families. For children of all ages.
Even though stroke is relatively common in children, scores of medical professionals have never treated a child who has had a stroke or received the education needed to diagnose it. It took over six months for my daughter to be diagnosed with the stroke she had been born with and further time to build the right medical team for her ongoing care. As parents, it took us even longer to find the right family support and to learn we were not alone.
When I think of all of this, and the fact there are so many other families with these same stories, whether from birth or with an older child, it leaves me with so many wishes for our children. I wish everyone knew about pediatric stroke and the reality for so many kids. Some days I underplay what it’s like, this journey with a child and stroke. Sometimes I guard my words and worry I will make someone uncomfortable with the facts about pediatric stroke. But maybe, just maybe, we need to make ripples in the water for change. I want the words to sink in, to mean something to you. To spark a desire to bring the needed visibility to awareness, to give our children’s generation and parents a voice.
A Brain injury like stroke, can’t be seen on the outside. You can’t see the void, the permanent damage on the right side of my daughter’s brain from her stroke at birth. With a simple glance, you may not even notice that her left side is weak, that she can’t use both her hands equally or that her left heel never strikes the ground when she walks. Her little brain and body goes through tremendous work to process stimuli in the everyday world. And she’s not alone.
The Warriors: Of children surviving stroke, roughly 60% will have permanent neurological disabilities, most commonly hemiparesis or hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. Beyond the initial stroke, there is the added risk of re-occurrence, the possibility of seizures and other long-term disabilities. Therapy and rehabilitation become a regular part of daily life throughout childhood. Children forgo tests, surgeries, therapy and medication one day at a time. Caregivers will often get the bulk of the credit, praise for doing exactly what anyone would do out of love, but I believe the children are the warriors.
Be the change: A stroke can happen at any age. Yet with the limited information and resources out there about it, stroke is often the last thing thought about among many medical professionals or families when it comes to a child. Many well-meaning attempts with articles trying to bring awareness are overshadowed by calling stroke in children “rare.” Know this, a stroke is a medical emergency at any age, and the sheer chance that it can happen to your child demands attention to the signs of pediatric stroke.
The harshest reality is that stroke in children is among the top 10 causes of death. It has to matter. It has to matter to medical professionals so they can learn how to recognize it and how to treat it in a timely manner. It has to matter to anyone that has a child or works with children because if those signs of stroke are ever present, every. second. counts.
My hope, a hope shared by all of us with Pediatric Stroke Warriors and the children and families we serve, is that you will join us in amplifying the awareness this May and be a voice for children. Cause a ripple effect in the knowledge that strokes in children of all ages are indeed real and how important it is to recognize the signs rapidly. If it makes a difference in one child’s life, then you can bet the awareness you shared is worth its weight in gold.
Kaysee Hyatt
Co Founder & Executive Director of Pediatric Stroke Warriors
Want to share in the awareness? Download our Talking about the Facts: Stroke in Children toolkit
At the very heart of our mission with Pediatric Stroke Warriors, is children. We believe that increasing awareness leads to a quicker recognition of stroke in a child, and that having a foundation in support can help a child flourish to their greatest potential after stroke. We place importance on both awareness and hope for Pediatric Stroke.
I know that quite possibly, the last time you heard a stroke story, it didn’t involve a healthy-seeming newborn or a fifth-grader who went to the nurse’s office with dizziness and a headache. It most often wasn’t of a teenager who spent a “normal” day at school, only later in the evening to experience numbness down one side of their body. When you’ve never heard about stroke in children, it becomes easy to assume it must be very rare. Yet stories like these are real and are shared every day.
For over the last 4 years, Pediatric Stroke Warriors has continued to strengthen communities by providing support to families and promoting advocacy, public awareness and education of current resources related to stroke in children. Although awareness and education continues to overall increase, the most common misconception about stroke that many organizations encounter regularly , is that it only impacts older people.
Consider these facts:
• Stroke occurs at the highest rate in infants younger than 1 month of age, effecting 1-2000 births each year and nearly 5 per 100,000 children through ages 1 month to 18.
• Stroke is as common as brain tumors in the pediatric population.
• Stroke is one of the top ten causes of death for children.
• Studies have found that in the US, it can often take longer than 24 hours to diagnose stroke in children. Which is valuable time missed when every minute matters. Quick, proper treatment is critical to saving a child’s life and minimizing brain damage and lasting effects.
Six years ago, I became that parent, we were given that medical diagnosis, perinatal ischemic stroke. We were shocked. The memories and emotions that came with it can still feel staggering to me at times. I assure you this is not just a moment our family faced; it’s a reality for countless families. For children of all ages.
Even though stroke is relatively common in children, scores of medical professionals have never treated a child who has had a stroke or received the education needed to diagnose it. It took over six months for my daughter to be diagnosed with the stroke she had been born with and further time to build the right medical team for her ongoing care. As parents, it took us even longer to find the right family support and to learn we were not alone.
When I think of all of this, and the fact there are so many other families with these same stories, whether from birth or with an older child, it leaves me with so many wishes for our children. I wish everyone knew about pediatric stroke and the reality for so many kids. Some days I underplay what it’s like, this journey with a child and stroke. Sometimes I guard my words and worry I will make someone uncomfortable with the facts about pediatric stroke. But maybe, just maybe, we need to make ripples in the water for change. I want the words to sink in, to mean something to you. To spark a desire to bring the needed visibility to awareness, to give our children’s generation and parents a voice.
A Brain injury like stroke, can’t be seen on the outside. You can’t see the void, the permanent damage on the right side of my daughter’s brain from her stroke at birth. With a simple glance, you may not even notice that her left side is weak, that she can’t use both her hands equally or that her left heel never strikes the ground when she walks. Her little brain and body goes through tremendous work to process stimuli in the everyday world. And she’s not alone.
The Warriors: Of children surviving stroke, roughly 60% will have permanent neurological disabilities, most commonly hemiparesis or hemiplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. Beyond the initial stroke, there is the added risk of re-occurrence, the possibility of seizures and other long-term disabilities. Therapy and rehabilitation become a regular part of daily life throughout childhood. Children forgo tests, surgeries, therapy and medication one day at a time. Caregivers will often get the bulk of the credit, praise for doing exactly what anyone would do out of love, but I believe the children are the warriors.
Be the change: A stroke can happen at any age. Yet with the limited information and resources out there about it, stroke is often the last thing thought about among many medical professionals or families when it comes to a child. Many well-meaning attempts with articles trying to bring awareness are overshadowed by calling stroke in children “rare.” Know this, a stroke is a medical emergency at any age, and the sheer chance that it can happen to your child demands attention to the signs of pediatric stroke.
The harshest reality is that stroke in children is among the top 10 causes of death. It has to matter. It has to matter to medical professionals so they can learn how to recognize it and how to treat it in a timely manner. It has to matter to anyone that has a child or works with children because if those signs of stroke are ever present, every. second. counts.
My hope, a hope shared by all of us with Pediatric Stroke Warriors and the children and families we serve, is that you will join us in amplifying the awareness this May and be a voice for children. Cause a ripple effect in the knowledge that strokes in children of all ages are indeed real and how important it is to recognize the signs rapidly. If it makes a difference in one child’s life, then you can bet the awareness you shared is worth its weight in gold.
Kaysee Hyatt
Co Founder & Executive Director of Pediatric Stroke Warriors
Want to share in the awareness? Download our Talking about the Facts: Stroke in Children toolkit
A stroke is a medical emergency at any age. If you think a child is having a stroke, do not delay, call 911. A rapid response, quick diagnosis and treatment a child may help limit damage to the brain.
RSS Feed