Help Please-Survivors who are also Parents

[lescaut]

Hi guys

Since my wife Sandy's SAH my mind is forever on our two adult offspring.

Sandy's father had similar problems when in his forties. I am therefore

always thinking about whether our kids are likely to suffer brain trauma

as well in the future.

Both are now in their mid-thirties and our daughter has a young family.

Our son drinks and smokes heavily which wouldn't help at all.

Is it possible to get a "routine" MRI done every year or two? Very expensive

in this country! What advice have members of BTG given their kids? Surely

the genetic factor can't be ignored?

I would hate for something to happen to one or both of them. Something

that might have been avoided.

Would love some advice on this. Many thanks.

lescaut

[Lin-lin]

Hello there,

I don't have any answers; rather I'm just acknowledging that you ask a good question and I too look forward to other BTG members replying.

I had a baby last August and up until then was not too preoccupied with the possible genetic factor, but now it is a different story.

I don't know if the NHS offer routine screening here, I suspect not. I think I may have to have a 'stronger case' than simply my SAH alone.

Thank you for posting a question that has been on my mind for a while.

[MaryB]

Tough to give advice to kids.My friends both have different forms of skin cancer one is a birth defict (SP) and cause tumors in the body as well a skin cancers on body and he has melonoma ( the deadly kind). They cannot get their kids out of the sun to save their souls. Another has disbetics in theirs fmaily - did not hit home until the kids were morabily obsese and had to start pills.

I do not think you can get your children to understand. Lucky me I have one that is takign better care of his health after the dr scared the poop out of him at his appointment about his blood pressure and cholesterol- he is 29. But he also saw his grandparents die of every nasty disease out there so I guess it is something you can talk about but they have to be willing to listen.

I understand you feelings but I think as much as we care we can only do so much. I was thankful I was aready eating well and exercising well when mine hit. I recently was thinking about the guy my husband shared a room with when he had kidney cancer and the fellow had some major stomach issue but ordered fried eggs and bacon etc for breakfast and vomited the rest of the morning. We were just shaking our heads.

The best gift you can give your children ( speaking of little ones now) is to start them off healthy with good food choices and put them in a sport at some point to learn about exercise. my youngest has worked on a golf couse all though college and he SMOKES but he at least says he always chooses the hand mower job cause it is the only physical exercise he gets a day.

GooD luck, Here in the USA my deductable is $5,000 my MRI with contrast is $4,500.

Mary

[paul99]

hi lescaut

having dealt with many patients in my career anyone who has a history of sah within their family, it would be prudent for them to be scanned as mum has suffered therefore any children should be scanned just to put their minds to rest but should anything be found then they can be monitered from them i dont think you or your wife could go through it all again because it is known that genetics play a roll in some take care

Edited March 6, 2013 by paul99

[Super Mario]

My two were scanned and given the all clear.

[goldfish.girl]

Hi Lescaut,

I think all parents ask the same question after an SAH. My neuro surgeon told me that unless there were two 1st degree relatives that had an SAH, he wouldn't scan my children. (For my children it's their mum & their mums' auntie who have had SAH's). My older son, who is 22, was offered screening by a different hospital neurology department. For now, with the invincibility of youth mind set, he has chosen not to be tested. As Mary says, you can only make suggestions to adult children, you can't make them understand how scary it is for you as the parent.....

Also, the neuro surgeon who said 'no' advised that all not all anneurysms are treatable etc, etc, that would also be very hard to deal with and even if there were any found, many people have ones which never burst. I think that was meant to reassure me, it didn't! All you can do is give them the facts on the possibility of it being genetic, advise them about the risk factors (smoking, drinking & high BP) and leave them to decide how they want to deal with the knowledge.

Michelle

[lescaut]

Thanks for all that. Guess we can only warn and

suggest. Know our daughter is keen to get checked

out, understandable given her young family. As for

our son, well I reckon he thinks he's indestructible.

But then that's a male thing, isn't it!! Cheers all.