I can write about the last few weeks and how I've had a few nice trips and how last weekend Jambuca was sick with a stomach bug and how SNG had it Monday night right before I left for New York and what a nice anniversary dinner we had last night, but today was a little more newsworthy than those things.
This morning, e-baby went to church with her Granny and Grampy, so SNG and I took Jambuca to the grocery store. He was sleepy, but cheerful enough. After that, we went to Durham for a birthday party for a friend of e's. When we got there, I noticed that Jambuca felt a little warm, but SNG thought he felt fine. A few hours later, he stil hadn't had a nap, and it was showing. He had a thousand-yard stare, but being as he is, he doesn't sleep in a stroller, so he just gazed around until time to leave. He just looked dazed and tired, and not real interested in anything.
In the car, we were certain he'd fall asleep right away, so I looked back to see if he had even made it the few blocks from the parking lot of the life and science museum.
His eyes were rolling around and his body was tremoring, drool coming from the side of his mouth.
"OH-SHIT he's having a seizure PULL OVER I'm calling 911" (yes, I hollered the s-word with e-baby in the car. I just hope she didn't add it to her vocabulary.)
SNG ran a red light to turn, pulled over, put on the blinkers, and took Jambuca out of the car. He held him up, put his face up to Jambuca's, talking and trying like mad to get him to respond. Jambuca's body was stiff, back arched, facing up to the sky, totally unresponsive. 911 dispacher telling me it looks worse than it is. Eight minutes later EMS arrived. By this time, Jambuca was catatonic, flopped against SNG's chest, staring at nothing. His temp was 103, skin was cold and clammy. EMS said it was for sure a seizure, probably brought on my a sudden onset of fever.
They put him on a gurney and I rode in the ambulance. They stuck his finger to test his blood sugar, and he didn't even register that it had happened. His O2 sat wasn't great, so he had an oxygen mask. He was shaking like crazy from chills. I could see SNG following behind us like his car was on a bungee cord.
It wasn't until we were in the ER at Duke for about 10 minutes that Jambuca fussed or cried or made any noise (when he threw up all over the place).
Jambuca slept in the car going home from Durham, and drank apple juice when we got home. He was in bed asleep by 6:30, and didn't even want a book. His eyes were closed before I finished th 2nd verse of his lullaby.
Bottom line is that he's fine. One in 25 kids under 5 get febral seizures, and it doesn't really mean anything. If he had a lot more, they'd start doing additional testing. But I'll tell you, watching your 2-year-old have a seizure and not knowing what to do is terrifying.
E-baby stayed calm, patient, and charming the whole time. She made friends with the staff but didn't get in the way of the work being done. She tried so hard to make her baby brother smile (it didn't work). But I'm sure that after he's had a good rest, he'll have a good laugh with her over some goldfish crackers.
4 comments:
Thank goodness everything is okay! I can't imagine how scary that would be.
Being in the ambulance & pediatric ER with a sick child is something I've done before, so I know that alone is terrifying. I can't even imagine the seizure part, I think I would've lost it. So glad he's ok.
Btw, when I told C-girl yesterday that her cousin was sick and in the hospital, she cried and cried. She was so upset, "He's just a baby and they might have to give him a shot!" I promised her that he's absolutely fine now, but it appears we've entered the Age of Empathy, which is sweet.
And p.s., I've dropped the s-bomb in front of C-girl more times than I can count (along with a few other choice words here and there) and she has yet to incorporate them. One time she did repeat something she heard Jon Stewart say on the Daily Show (starts with "son of a"), and I just told her that that's not a nice word, and grown-ups shouldn't say it, but little kids are definitely not allowed to ever say it. She hasn't said it since. *shrug* I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Yup, I drove with E behind the ambulance and her only thought was for her favorite little guy, not her newly learned vocabulary.
And yes, it WAS TERRIFYING! But, I held the dude and Cat worked the 911 call. We were a good team.
He feels great today, too. Amazing.
I can only imagine your fear. As always, you two are a great team and I am sure that e-baby made an important contribution. i am so proud of her for remaining calm and not adding to the confusion. Super glad to hear Jambuca is fine and hope to never read about one of your kids having a seizure again! Am sure you are hoping to never write about it again either!
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