Little Sophie had to learn to walk and talk again. The “childhood” infection provoked her stroke.
When the four-year-old caught chickenpox, no one panicked. She was the third and youngest child in the family, and my mother knew what to do in such a situation. But for what happened next, the woman was not ready. Sophie was on the mend when she just fell out of bed one morning. The girl’s father, Edwin, picked up his daughter in his arms. And one glance at the child was enough for the mother to understand: the baby has a stroke.
“I was in a panic – this day Tracy, Sophie’s mom. – We rushed to the hospital. The doctors confirmed: yes, this is a stroke. And no one could tell us if Sophie would be okay or not. “
A stroke in a four-year-old child is incomprehensible to the mind
As it turned out, the chickenpox virus caused the cerebral hemorrhage. Very rarely, but this happens: due to infection, the blood vessels of the brain narrow.
Sophie remained in the hospital for four long months. She learned to walk and speak again. Now the girl has recovered a little, but she still cannot fully use her right hand, she walks, limping and very close, and the vessels in her brain remain dangerously thin. The baby’s parents are afraid that she will have a second stroke.
Sophie can’t be alone for a minute. She still sleeps with her parents. Twice a day, the girl is injected with a blood thinner.
“Sophie is a very strong girl, she is a real fighter. She even learned to ride a tricycle adapted for her. Despite everything that has happened, she is looking forward to the trip to Disneyland. Sophie really wants to meet the Beast from Beauty and the Beast, ”says Tracy.
The baby wears a splint on her leg that helps her walk
“If a child becomes infected with chickenpox at preschool age, it is believed that it is not scary. However, the disease has a very unpleasant complication – it damages not only the skin and mucous membranes, but also nerve cells. Chickenpox is usually mild in young children. But in one out of a hundred cases, a child develops a very serious complication – chickenpox encephalitis, or brain inflammation, ”says pediatrician Nikolai Komov.
In older children – schoolchildren, adolescents, as well as in adults, chickenpox is especially difficult. The rash period lasts up to two weeks. And the patient is also tormented by severe itching, intoxication, inflammation of the mucous membranes, when even eating becomes a real torment. The same virus in adulthood causes shingles or herpes zoster – very painful rashes that will take 3-4 weeks to heal.
By the way, doctors advise giving a child a vaccination against chickenpox – it is not in the national vaccination calendar. Which ones are, and from what it is worth to be vaccinated additionally, you can read in detail HERE.
“In Europe, America and Japan, chickenpox vaccination has been carried out since the 70s of the last century. There, vaccination is mandatory. Vaccinations can be carried out from a year, twice with a break of 6 weeks, ”the doctor advises.
One injection costs about 3 thousand rubles. Before daring to get vaccinated, be sure to consult your pediatrician.