It was a typical Monday Morning in our household. Except that my it was the first day back to school after a week's worth of vacation. As usual I woke up my son and then went in to wake up my sleepyhead daughter. She lumbered into the bathroom (where she gets dressed in the morning so that we don't wake up her little sister) and everything seemed quite normal. Although, groggy would be an understatement. Shortly after I left her I heard her thump into something. I rolled my eyes and smiled because she's just so clutzy it's almost comical. "Are you okay" In a cheerful sing song voice she answered, "Yeah, I'm fine." Within just a few more seconds I heard a second thump. I decided to go back upstairs. I called to her and she didn't answer me. I'm not worried, just a little annoyed at having to go up and down the stairs so many times and it's barely even 6:15 am! I opened the bathroom door and found her in a full seizure on the floor. Luckily, I've been First Aid/CPR but still My heart just stopped. I went into action as I could hear her choking in an attempt to breathe. Her seizure lasted at least 2 minutes although it seemed like hours!We live in such a remote area that the ambulance arrived 15 minutes after my husband's 911 call. And it took another 45 minutes after that to get her in a calm enough state to travel. She was suffering from what they call a Post-Ictal state. She was highly agitated and fearful. Repetively screaming when seeing anyone she didn't "know" prior to the seizure. It was a very tense, and alarmingly scary event for our family as there has never been a history of seizures with our children or any of our close relatives. So we were caught completely off guard. Although, I'm not sure anyone is ever prepared to see their child in such a horrible state.
We did get the the ER about 1 1/2 hours after the seizure (45 minutes at the house before she was calm enough to travel and 45 minute drive). The ER ran several tests. The CT Scan came back clear but her EKG was inconclusive. Their diagnoses was that she fainted, hit her head causing a concussion (and a beautiful black eye) and the concussion caused the seizure. She was released from the ER within 4 hours of her arrival. I was less than convinced that they had investigated her symptoms enough. So I immediately called our Family Doctor and he saw her Tuesday. After a very thorough check over (we were in his office nearly 2 hours) he concluded that she is hypoglycemic. After reading more about it I agree...wholeheartedly. She still needs follow up testing because she shows signs of having "partial" seizures previously. So we are being scheduled for an EEG and another EKG.
My greenhouse stands empty as I now find it hard to not be within arm's reach of my daughter. For the time being (at the request of the doctor) she sleeps on a camp cot in our bedroom so we can monitor her. It's been a very stressful and very frightening time for our family and suddenly the seeds I bought but have yet to plant just don't seem as important. But as she recovers she seems interested in helping me plant them so...Maybe if we have a chance today. If not...the seeds will wait. I have more important things to do:
- Stare at my oldest daughter.
- Thank God that she's okay.
- Hug my son.
- Thank God he's okay.
- Chase my little daughter.
- Thank God she's okay.
A lot to do and only one day to do it! Ofcourse, I can (and will) try again tomorrow.
14 comments:
Oh, I'm so sorry you and your daughter had to go through something like that! My eldest son has epilepsy, so I know what you mean about your heart stopping.
Hospitals seem to be the same everywhere...they kept telling me there was absolutely nothing wrong(!) with my son until I refused to leave the hospital with him after the third one until they found out what was wrong! My kids are on a snow day today, so I get to hug them lots.
:)
my goodness that sounds very scary!! good luck with everything. I'll be sending you positive thoughts.
My son fainted this week and it drove my heart to my stomach. He's 25yrs old!! He had been sick so I think it was related to that and the fact he was doing PE for his college AF ROTC program before getting over his flu bug. But I feel for you cause I felt helpless. I didn't find out about it till later that day and then I felt even more helpless.
I hugged him tight when I saw him but now that he has a wife...she is taking care of him. They are always our little children though--no matter how big they get.
I hope that was your daughter's only seizure. You are not over reacting but being a good loving mom. I wish for you and your family the very best.
Whenever anything happens to our children, it is so worrisome. That was a big shock for your family, so it's no wonder that you are wanting to keep your daughter close.
I hope everything will be okay now for your daughter. Also take good care of yourself too!!
Still thinking about you!!
Thank you for all! I think we're figuring it out...albeit slowly. I truly appreciate all of your well wishes and your friendship during this time.
Hang in there I'll get back to gardening as soon as I can. ;)
I've seen other people have seizures and it is so frightening. I remember how I felt when my little poodle had them, it was horrible, and she was just a dog. I can't imagine if it was happening to one of my children.
It certainly does put things into perspective doesn't it? Seeds can wait, even until next year if necessary. I hope it was just an isolated incident and never happens again.
What a frightening incident! I'm sure you felt terrible panic. We mothers feel our childrens pain, in a very real sense, don't we?
I'm glad to hear your daughter is doing better and pray she'll continue to improve, with no future seizures.
Maybe she will help with the seeds when you both feel ready for planting. It'll be fun to do it together.
I popped over from Apple's blog (I'm another NYer) :)
How scary - for your entire family. I hope your daughter is doing okay. I'm thinking of you!
Oh Robin, my heart goes out to you and your whole family. What a scary time. Hopefully all will be ok, a diagnosis will be made and you can get her on track to excellent health.
My youngest daughter was in a horrific ski accident when she was in fourth grade. The first hospital could not even admit her as they couldn't handle her internal injuries so I know how awful you are feeling. Thankfully for us, everything turned out well enough but I still have a hard time letting her go off on any adventures.
Oh how very scary! I hope they've found the real cause of this and that she'll be okay from here on out. I think we can handle things that happen with ourselves better than when it's to do with someone we love, especially our children.
*hugs*
CJ
I'm so sorry for what your daughter and your family must have been going through with this. I didn't read the post until now.
It must have been horrifying .. i don't know what i would do seeing my son in a state like that .. and it doesn't matter how old they get .. you still FEEL that panic.
I hope they can find the cause of the blood sugar problem.
I hope you are all feeling better by now .. but I understand how on guard you must feel .. I would too.
Best wishes for your daughter and your family !
Joy
((hugs)) You've certainly had more than your share! I hope your daughter is back to her sweet self soon. I'm only guessing which hospital you ended up at. We've made many trips to two of the ER's in Syr the last 7 yrs, with mixed results. I'm glad you followed up with her doctor and hope that things sort themselves out quickly. Knowing where you are, 15 minutes sounds like a good response rate but I know it must have been the longest 15 minutes of your life.
So sorry to hear about your daughter...very scary! I can relate. I'm hypoglycemic and have had a similar experience. Since I've been very careful no more "episodes". A change in eating habits and more awareness is necessary, but it's doable. For example, I always carry protein bars.
Take care!
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