Every Mother's Worst Fear....

One of them anyway.
I'm not going to dress it up or drag it out.

I shouldn't have used the word "fever" so lightly the other day.
I got a call in work today that my daughter spiked a fever , had a febrile seizure - and was rushed by ambulance to the hospital.

I hung up with my sitter after finding out that she was warm, and seemed to have her stomach bothering her. I said, "no worries - I'll leave work now. Could you do me a favor and run a lukewarm bath to try to get her fever down a bit - I'll be right home". She didn't seem so feverish that I wanted her to take a temperature reading; just counteract and try to make her comfortable. Sometimes a bath just makes her feel good in general. My sitter was going to give her Motrin also. Well, according to the timestamp on her phone - she had to call 911 no more than 2 minutes after we hung up. Two minutes! My daughter went from being warm - to having a seizure in that short span of time.

And while I know from all my reading that febrile seizures aren't as damaging as they are frightening - my heart flew to my stomach and I couldn't get to the hospital fast enough. I only told a few people in work as I left - and of course word spread. It was nice to have my friends calling me on my way to the hospital to make sure that I was okay and clear headed enough to get there okay. And of course - the follow up phone calls as well. It's really nice when people show they are concerned for you and your family.

I'm not going to describe what it was like to walk in and see her....you can imagine. I mean, I didn't cry or anything like that - but to see your child in a listless state is not a pleasant sight. I walked in, took her - and she didn't leave my arms again until I had to drive home. My sitter stayed with me the whole time - and sat with her in her lap for the drive home. Since they went by ambulance, there was no car seat. My daughter's fever never went any higher than 101.9 which I thought was low for a seizure. The doctor explained that it's a myth that high fevers cause seizures; this isn't to say that they can't - but a seizure is triggered the rate of speed the spike happens, not necessarily the degree to which it peaks. So, she spiked from normal to say - 102 in a period of time which her body couldn't process properly - hence the seizure.

My sitter, was a godsend. Not only did she do everything right- but she remained calm, and kept my son calm and prepared for the arrival of the ambulance and fire department. And as I said - she stayed with me the whole time. While my son didn't see the seizure or truly know the extent of what was going on - he was protective of his sister in his own way at the hospital. Holding her hand....he didn't want her to sleep at all, he was afraid we wouldn't be able to wake her - so he kept trying to keep her awake. Of course, she needed sleep - so my husband and he went home shortly after she was stabilized, while my sitter and I stayed while they ran tests to see if she had any specific virus that she may be testing positive for.

She's asleep now; and I'm waiting to give her another dose of Motrin so that she doesn't spike in her sleep.
This, was not one of the better days we've had around here.

But I can tell you this....by the time we left and came home - she was happy, and singing and smiling and eating.
This is just one of the lifetime of events that as a Mom, I have to look forward to.
It's worth it.