EVERY day, Vicki and Steve Roberson count themselves lucky.

In January, they came frighteningly close to losing their teenage son Aaron when he suffered a stroke.

"He almost died in hospital; we thought we'd lost him," Vicki recalls.

"He was in an induced coma for two weeks while doctors kept him medicated to control the blood clots in the vessels in his brain."

The first sign of a problem came when Aaron started

complaining of headaches and feeling lethargic.

"Last December he told us how unwell he felt. He said he had headaches and was feeling tired.

"We took him to a doctor and we were told he had a virus."

"By new year's eve, he was no better.

"We took him back to the doctor and by January 2 we were at the emergency department at Casey Hospital.

"They kept him in for the day and night - one of the nurses picked up something more was wrong and he was transported to Monash Medical Centre."

The following day Aaron's neurological observations were taken, which showed up as abnormal.

That was the beginning of an anxious wait for the Roberson family.

Doctors discovered Aaron had blood clots in his brain vessels, and it was too dangerous to operate.

"That's when he was placed into an induced coma, kept on medication and had a breathing tube inserted."

What happened to Aaron was extremely rare - about six in one million, Vicki says.

"He had a virus and the chemicals in his blood had reacted to it, causing the clots."

A recent brain scan has shown the medication has worked and the clots have shrunk.

Although Aaron has made good progress, the stroke has left him with cerebral palsy, which has caused fatigue, forgetfulness and irritability.

After a tumultuous year the Roberson family are getting back to normality and were recently given the chance to enjoy quality time away from home after being granted a Starlight Foundation Christmas wish.