It started with a bump on the head by Shyann

On the 21st of January 2019, my 4-year-old son Kaizer was playing with his older brother. It was the kind of game that thousands of little boys play every day. But on this occasion, it began our family’s stroke journey.

My boys were playing at the back door when Kaizer got a fright and walked into the door frame hitting his head hard and falling sideways. We immediately took him to Toowoomba Hospital and he was treated for concussion.

The next few days were pretty normal for him, but we were to find out later that he had suffered a small stroke in that time. 

It was a week later during Australia Day celebrations when things really took a turn for the worse. While playing with the other kids in the pool I noticed Kaizer lurch sideways and grab on the side. He wasn’t distressed but I knew something was not right – call it mothers’ intuition.

I called an ambulance immediately and he was taken back to Toowoomba Hospital where he deteriorated very quickly.

They were not sure what was happening, so he was air lifted to Queensland Children’s Hospital and placed in ICU. He had an MRI and it showed that my little boy had suffered a series of strokes, the last one catastrophic.

We were devastated. How could this happen after a bump on the head? We had not heard of any other children suffering a stroke, let alone a series of them. The emotions were overwhelming, but somehow, we pulled ourselves together.

Kaizer could not walk or talk, he could not go to the toilet and had lost many of his gross motor skills. It felt like he was literally starting again at four. But my boy is made of tough stuff. He threw himself into intense rehab and I am so proud of what he has achieved. 

Every day for three months Kaizer did an hour of intense rehab.  He began with sitting up, repeating this exercise over and over again, he never complained. Then he walked on different surfaces to work on his balance. He also really loved the peddle tractor in the rehabilitation ward and spent hours peddling around. His Occupational Therapist worked with him regularly to try to correct his right sided weakness and he loved painting and putting toy animals in shaving cream.

Within two months Kaizer was walking, fully toilet trained and had gained back some of his right-side movement. During this time, he also got his words back. I can’t describe how it felt to hear Kaizer say his first words after stroke. I was petrified that I would never hear that sweet little voice again.

Kaizer is home now and he is doing great. He is gaining more movement on his right side every day. But he is struggling with his short-term memory and has trouble with his peripheral vision. He still does physiotherapy and speech therapy most days, and works with an Occupational Therapist. We still have a long way to go, but Kaizer has bounced back and is running around with his siblings, which is great therapy in itself. 

Kaizer has taught us so much by the way he has never given up. He is a smiley happy little boy, and my hero. Although he has a bit of a way to go before he’s back up a tree or climbing frame, he has such amazing determination for someone so young.

I am proud of how we have done this as a family. We’re strong and determined and we support each other. You’ve got to be strong and dig deep when you face a crisis like this. 

Thank you for reading our family’s story

I am fundraising to stop stroke by participating in he Sunday Mail Bridge to Brisbane 2019. I've created this page because I want to make a difference. I'm inspired by the work of Stroke Foundation and wanted to support them by raising money. Please help me help them by giving whatever you can using the 'Give Now' button. The more people that know about Stroke Foundation, the greater their impact, so please also spread the word by sharing my page with your friends and family. Thank you in advance for your generosity, it means a lot!