Greta's Lakyn Pratt was only eight months old when he suffered a stroke.
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His mum Mikaela Pratt said a stroke was "the last thing we thought would have happened to him, especially because of his age".
"We didn't know children had strokes," she said, of herself and husband Ethan.
"Lakyn had just woken up from an afternoon nap and was crying. I thought he had been teething."
She noticed his left side was limp and his eyes were locked to the left.
"It wasn't until we had the CT scan that we knew something was really wrong. The doctor or nurse came to us and said we've scanned his brain and it doesn't look normal," she said.
"We burst into tears because we weren't expecting anything to be wrong with his brain."
It was the start of a long recovery for Lakyn, who began weekly therapy with a paediatric brain injury rehabilitation team.
He was sent to Sydney for a week of testing, where he was diagnosed with moyamoya disease, a rare neurological condition that affects about one in a million people.
This condition led to him having two surgeries to increase blood flow to the brain, and the stroke left him unable to use his left hand.
Despite his ordeal, his mum said he was "so happy and always smiling".
He's now 18 months old and can use left hand to clap thanks to "intense therapy".
"Now he's trying to open up his fingers and grasp things. He's getting there. He can bring his left hand to his mouth now," Mrs Pratt said.
Lakyn's face also drooped after the stroke, along with his eyes being locked one way.
"We were unsure if they would ever come back, but they're fine now," she said.
The effects on his left arm, though, mean he is now classed as having cerebral palsy.
About 600 Australian children have a stroke each year.
To mark National Stroke Week, the Stroke Foundation encouraged the community to "fight stroke together".
Stroke Foundation chief executive Dr Lisa Murphy said stroke can happen to anyone.
"Even newborn babies have strokes," Dr Murray said.
"Around a third of all strokes in children occur under one year of age."
The foundation highlighted the FAST acronym, which teaches people the signs of stroke.
That is, has their mouth drooped, can they lift both arms, is their speech slurred and can they understand you.
And lastly, time is critical. If you see any of these signs, call 000.
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