Stories of Lost Children
My Cody
by Kristi VanWagner, Fort Wayne, IN, U.S.A.
My son Cody was 17. He was my world, along with his older brother. I have been a single mother most of their lives until I recently remarried last April. Cody started getting headaches that would not go away so we went to the doctor. He diagnosed Cody with cluster headaches, which we accepted because migraines run in our family. The next day his headache was still really bad, the meds did not help at all, so I called the doctor again. They prescribed codeine and scheduled an MRI for the next day, Friday. We waited and waited for the results, which finally came on the following Tuesday. Everything was ok, which is what the doctor told me and suggested a schedule an appointment with a pain management specialist. The next day he didn't seem to have a headache at all; the first time in two weeks, so we were so relieved. The next morning he woke up for school and said "It's hurting pretty good today Mom, can I stay home". So I gave him some medicine, sent him back to bed and went to work. Around 11 am, my frantic older son called telling me he found Cody on the bathroom floor and called 911, but it was too late. He had already passed away. It turns out he was not okay. He had a brain aneurysm that ruptured. I am just devastated. They say that if we had known and tried to fix it, it probably would have caused serious neurological damage and possibly death, so I guess in a way I'm glad we did not know. He would have suffered even more, knowing he was going to die. On the other hand, I will never forgive myself for going to work that day. He had to die alone on the bathroom floor. I should have been there holding him and comforting him. I'm not sure I will ever recover from this. Today is March 8th. Cody died last November 1st.
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