Holy Seizure!

Monday and Tuesday nights were terrible! Parker kept waking up crying, and we couldn't get him to sleep comfortably on his own. We guessed he was getting sick, but he didn't have any other symptoms. On Wednesday morning, I was relieved to find drainage coming out of Parker's left ear. The ENT had told us to watch for ear drainage as a sign of infection. I called the ENT office, and they called Parker in some antibiotic ear drops -- 4 drops in each ear, twice a day, for 10 days. He had just finished 10 days of oral antibiotics on Monday, so we were frustrated that his opposite ear was infected 2 days later.  We did the drops Wednesday night and were so thankful that Parker slept through the night that night.

I was caught slightly off guard on Thursday afternoon when Casey called from daycare to say that Parker had a 101.2 temperature. They knew he was on ear drops, but they knew we'd want to know about his fever. They aren't allowed to give tylenol unless we've signed it into the medicine log for the day. It was about 2:20 when she called. I decided I'd go ahead and get him just in case.

When I got to daycare, Julee was surprised that Parker was running fever. She said he was fine all day! He ate like a pig and played like a boy. He napped well and didn't have fever when he woke up from that nap. In fact, he was still acting normal when Casey called me about his fever. He ate his snack fine too. As I stood there talking to Julee, I noticed that Parker's arms and legs were really cold... and his breathing was a little weird too. He was definitely congested and taking deep breaths out of his mouth. Julee said that no one else had been sick lately, and we agreed that it was probably just his ears and maybe the start of a cold.

We said our goodbyes and headed to the car. I strapped Parker into his carseat, and he immediately looked really sleepy. I said, "Parker, are you sleepy?"  I almost always say that to him when I pick him up from daycare and can tell he's going to fall asleep on the ride home. Everything after that is kind of a blur, and I know my timeframe of events is probably skewed. Parker rolled his eyes toward the ceiling of the car, and I thought he was just being silly. He's started being really expressive with his eyes. It only took another second for me to realize that something was wrong. I frantically unstrapped him and begged him to look at me. As soon as I pulled his arms out of the straps, he started shaking. His body was strangely stiff, his eyes were rolled back, and he wouldn't blink.  I was petrified. As I pulled him out of his carseat, his head flipped back. Luckily, I was parked in the closest parking spot to the door. He continued to seize as I ran him inside and yelled for help.


Parker only seized for maybe a minute more once we were inside. Looking back, there were lots of blessings. Janice, the early drop off teacher, was making copies in the office. She was the first person to hear me scream. It was a blessing that Janice was in the office. She knew Parker and was able to call 911 and answer some of the easy questions over the phone. Julee was just in the next room and was able to help.  In all the chaos, I was comforted having Janice and Julee on my side. Shortly into the 911 call, Parker stopped seizing. The first responders and firemen were wonderful. When they arrived, Parker was lying limp in my arms... but we knew he was going to be okay.


There were so many firemen there. It's all kind of a blur, but I did remember feeling proud at one point. A fireman asked if anyone had contacted the parents, and another guy said, "Ummm that's the mom." The fireman turned to me and said I was handling myself really well. I laughed a nervous laugh, but I was proud. If anyone would have ever told me I'd witness my child having a seizure, I would have guessed I'd be a complete basket case. I was calm... totally panicked inside, but I was holding it together for Parker. I just remember begging and begging him to "look at Mommy."


While we were waiting for the ambulance, Megan (Parker's previous teacher from the nursery) came and took his temperature. It was 102.4.  They were already saying the seizure was most likely from his fever, but I was confused. He's had a temperature much higher than 102.4 before. The ambulance came and Parker and I loaded up. I was able to hold him in my lap for the ride to the hospital. Nothing was life threatening at this point. I just kept playing the last 10 minutes over and over in my head. Parker still wasn't very alert or active. He normally would have been all over that ambulance. He was pale, scared, and tired. As we pulled up to the hospital, Parker vomited all over me. Twice.  I should have seen it coming. I knew people usually throw up after having a seizure, but it was the furthest thing from my mind.


When we got inside the ER, several staff were waiting for us. They hooked Parker up, took his temperature, and started his IV. Wil was there within 3 or 4 minutes of us arriving. I was so thankful to see him. I just wanted him to hold me, but Parker was still so out of it. We each huddled down on opposite sides of the bed to hold Parker.   Dr. Gregory was Parker's ER doctor. She ordered blood work, a chest x-ray (because he was wheezy), and iv fluids.  Every bit of it was torture for Parker. He was already scared, and people kept hurting him.  The chest x-ray was probably the hardest part. It was a similar to this one --



daddyfiles.com

Parker just wanted to be held. The chest x-ray came back clear, as did the rapid strep test and other blood work.  Both of his ears were infected, but they thought it was likely that something viral was causing the fever.  Parker got a dose of iv antibiotics, and we were released about 6:20.  Dr. Gregory diagnosed him with a "febrile seizure."

We learned several things about febrile seizures from Dr. Gregory, Dr. Mason, and http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/febrile-seizure/DS00346

• They're pretty common.  1 out of 25 kids between ages 6 months and 6 years have them.
• Of those kids, 1/3 will have another febrile seizure  (meaning 2/3 will only have them once)
• Some factors make Parker more likely to have another one --
• he was 15 months old when he had his first (peak age is 12-18 months)
• he vomited after the seizure
• There's no real way to prevent them
• They can happen with fever over 100.4
• It's not about how high the fever is. It's triggered by the rate at which it rises.

After we got home from the hospital, Parker's fever spiked again. We battle a high fever all that night and all day Friday. It got to 105.0 once and to 104+ several times.  We were told to follow up with Dr. Ray on Friday. Unfortunately, she wasn't overbooked and had a meeting. However, she did set us up to see Dr. Mason at 2:00.  We appreciated that she picked him.  His daughter had a febrile seizure at 12 months old, and she has not yet had another one.  He told us to treat Parker's fever aggressively and to check it more often than we normally would. Although neither of these can prevent another febrile seizure, it does help us emotionally. Dr. Mason also told us that a febrile seizure may be the first sign that Parker is getting sick. Often parents won't see a fever until after the seizure. That's frightening.


Parker didn't make a single noise before, during, or after his febrile seizure. How are we supposed to sleep at night?  I can't tell you how many times Parker has woken up in the middle of the night with a fever. What would happen if he has a febrile seizure while we're asleep on the opposite side of the house?  I can't imagine him having another one, and I can't get the mental picture of him seizing in his carseat out of my head.  We worry about Parker a lot, because he's always sick. He's always on medicine. This is just one more thing to worry about. One more stress.


On a bright note, Parker's finally feeling better. He slept a lot on Thursday after the seizure and the better part of Friday. He still had a low fever on Saturday, but he's doing much better today.