At 73, Clara believed the sharp pain in her temple was probably a severe migraine. The discomfort throbbed on one side of her head, and a new pain appeared in her jaw whenever she tried to chew. Those symptoms seemed separate at first, but together they formed an urgent warning that doctors did not want her to ignore.
Clara’s daughter Sarah noticed that the pain was not behaving like an ordinary headache. It had appeared suddenly, remained focused around the temple, and was accompanied by tenderness and difficulty eating. Rather than waiting for a routine appointment, Sarah pushed for immediate medical attention. That decision began a race against a condition capable of causing permanent damage in a very short time
Doctors suspected giant cell arteritis, an inflammation of the arteries that commonly affects blood vessels around the temples in adults over 50. The condition can reduce blood flow to
