Febrile Seizures Are Scary

I would bet that if you ask any parent who has witnessed their child having one, they would agree. Unfortunately, after this evening, Daniel and I know first hand that they are awful. As Daniel said once it was all over, "talk about feeling helpless!"

I have experienced my fair share of "scary mommy moments" in the last 7 years...from Tegan's accident when she was 4 months old, to Addison falling off her bed in May, my heart has broken for the physical pain my children have suffered. Tonight was no exception.

Danica had been fairly cranky all day and hadn't napped well. I was pretty sure she was getting the cold that I have (stupid cold), so after dinner I took her to her room to see if she wanted to go to bed. When I laid her in her crib, she caught her breath with the intention of letting it out in a cry, but couldn't. She has had "breath holding spells" before, and I thought that's where it was headed.

*Side note: She has had a few breath holding spells in the past. From what I understand, they are common in toddlers. They are normally involuntary, but can be on purpose in some cases. It happens when they catch their breath to cry, but are so worked up that they can't...usually they pass out, then their body takes over and they start breathing again. Kids usually outgrow them by age 3. (I got this information from my Dr. and a parenting website).  They are very hard to watch :( I hate them.

Tonight, instead of passing out, she started seizing almost immediately. I called Daniel, and we laid her on the floor and waited for it to pass. It went on for a minute or two, and I was just starting to get really freaked out and call 911 when it stopped. We scooped her up and rushed her to town.
On the way to town, she cried the whole time...which was a reassurance to me that she was ok. Then she started vomiting from being so worked up.

Long story short...after being seen by 2 Dr.'s, getting a blood sample taken, receiving tylenol to lower her fever, and being monitored for a few hours, The Dr. ruled everything out and diagnosed it as a common febrile seizure.

I hope she never has another one :(

While she was sleeping in the ER, I picked up a Reader's Digest to read.  I came across this little quote: "Someone once asked me what it's like to have four children. I said "well, imagine that you're drowning, and someone tosses you a fourth child.""

Yup. But I love every minute of it :)