CT Scan

We had a little bit of excitement that I could have done without this week. When I picked Jake up from school on Tuesday, I could tell something was off. He looked really tired and when I pressed him to find out what was going on, he told me he had been having shooting pain off and on at his right temple and on top of his right eye. It had started about 30 minutes before I picked up from school. As crazy as it is, he hasn't had a headache of any kind since his aneurysm burst so it caused some increased concern for all of us.

By the time we got home, he started crying and asked me if he was having another stroke. I could tell looking at his face that he was really scared. I got out the stroke warning signs card we keep on the fridge and went through it to show him he didn't have any of the signs that it was a stroke. I was trying to stay outwardly calm and not show my concern to him, but with everything that's happened, it's hard not to worry or wonder if something is going on inside his head. I called Todd and we decided it was worth making a phone call to his neurologist. Jake had also been really tired for a few days and had been blinking more than normal. With all the symptoms combined they suggested we bring him down to Children's for a CT scan just as a precaution.

We were very relieved the scan came back clear, there was nothing to be concerned about. I think it did all of us good to know for certain that he was ok, especially Jake. He now knows that a headache can just be a headache.

It's  another tough thing to see him go through. He bumped the right side of his head on the bathroom cabinet tonight and got worried again that he had hurt himself. We told him that he was no more at risk injuring himself from a bump on the head than anyone else. (Something we confirmed last August before we ever left the hospital.) His worrying about various ailments more than he used to is a symptom of his stroke and it's something we work with him on to keep in check. He said that he hates worrying that something is happening in his brain every time he gets a headache or bumps his head. We talked to him about the fact it's perfectly normal to get worried and as time goes on and more things happen that cause no reaction, he'll start to worry less. I hate seeing that kind of stress and worry on his face.