How an MRI scan solved a 13-year-old's seizure mystery
For the parents of a sick child, physicians unable able to make a firm diagnosis and move forward with treatment options can be infuriating—to put it lightly.
For Amy and Kevin Hughes, a couple with two children living in the Philadelphia suburbs, that was just the case when their then 13-year-old son continued to suffer from unexplainable seizures, according to an article by the Chicago Tribune.
Over the holidays in 2015, the couple's son had come down with a cold and a headache, for which doctors prescribed three days of antibiotics for a suspected sinus infection. But soon after, they found him at home suffering a seizure. The possibility of permanent brain damage loomed on their minds for days to come.
Physicians told the Hughes a suspected virus may be remaining in their son's body despite treatment to ease and hopefully rid of his seizures. Although doctors were optimistic about the progress the Hughes' son was making while in the hospital, they planned to send him home with an MRI scheduled four to six weeks later.
"I thought, 'He can't come home,' "Amy Hughes told the Chicago Tribune. " 'What if he has a seizure in the middle of the night and stops breathing?"
An earlier-than-scheduled MRI showed Rion had a massive infection in the subdural area of his brain that had breached the bony flap separating the brain from the sinuses.
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A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.