Monday, July 1, 2013

Another scare,

This is a long post today detailing some of the events of this past Saturday:
“Today is not all there is. Things will NOT continue on forever just the way they are right now. Eternity is quickly approaching, and with it a weight of glory that so far surpasses the troubles we are experiencing that Paul dares to call them “light and momentary” (2 Corinthians 4:17).”

I read this today from this blog and I cannot tell you how much it spoke to me.  I know I haven’t finished writing down the events of your diagnosed febrile seizure, but this past weekend, you had another one.  Not nearly as severe as your first one, but another one just the same.  I don’t understand why this is happening.  The first one you were catching a cold, but this one, we were playing at the orchard, checking out the celebration of 200 years of farming. 
You were so excited to go to the Orchard.  We had spent the last couple days talking about it.  Free donuts!  A free playground!  Free wagon rides!  And…your favorite part, a free petting farm!  We were so excited to see you in your element!
We headed out the door and got there just after they opened.  The parking lot was becoming filled with cars and as we walked to the entrance, the balloons caught your eyes!  We headed right over to them and you hugged one and kissed it.  You wanted to touch EVERY SINGLE ONE.  (smile)  Once we got to the sign in, we headed straight over to the Petting Farm.  You were so excited!  There were donkeys, sheep, goats, LOTS of goats, chickens and big white geese!  You petted each one and most of them kissed you right back!  You even had one goat try to eat your flower in your hair!  (“Billy goat silly goat chews everything just because he’s curious.  And when he nibbles at your clothes, it might make you furious!” from My Farm Friends book you love to read!)  You loved all the animals but kept saying, “Let’s go find the cow mama!”  Sadly, this was one petting farm that did not have a cow.  Hopefully the next one will!
We traveled over to the information center where you got to pick a donut.  It had lots of red and blue sprinkles!!!  Now, it didn’t mean much to me then, but you really weren’t interested much in the donut (your first seizure you also weren’t interested in food that morning…maybe this is our clue?).  You had maybe 2 bites total but what you really wanted was your water.  You chugged an entire sippy full of water!
We then went over to the wagon ride.  You were excited to get it started!  We sat for what probably seemed like ages to you.  (smile)  You were so happy when it started moving.  We were told it would be about a 30 minute ride with three stops to teach about farming the orchard.  The stops were really neat to listen to and it really put it into perspective that the farm was started back when George Washington was president!  WOW!  But as we listened to “The Bug Lady” at the first stop (taught us how they trap and look for certain bugs to keep the harvest at its peak,  green and healthy), you wanted me to pick you up.  So I held you and you started to drift off.  We quickly put a pull up on you, you had after all just drank an entire sippy of water, and I held you.  As the wagon ride went to the next stop, you passed out cold.  It was nice to sit and hold you while you slept.  We figured you were still so tired from the prior evening.  You had been out late and then woke up at 1am crying and had a really hard time getting back to sleep.  But it was nice to sit there and hold you.  The last time you did that you were sick and the time before, you were just a baby.  I know I won’t get many more times like this so I cherish them when they happen.  We took some pictures and the people around us smiled.  (I'll try and post a couple of pictures later on this week.)
When we got off the wagon, there was the free playground.  This farm had a TON of wooden things to play on.  One of them was a train.  You LOVE trains!  So, despite being exhausted, we went over to the train and you sat on it for just a minute.  Then you asked Daddy to pick you up.  You kissed the train goodbye and we headed to the car.
On the way to the car, there was a hotdog stand.  They were selling hotdogs for $2 and you asked for one.  So we bought it.  Surprisingly, they were REALLY TASTY!!!  We all blew on it and took some bites as we headed to the car.  Daddy carried you the entire way.  Once we got to the car, we set you down, handed you the hotdog and daddy started to put you in your carseat. 
I had gone to the driver’s seat and turned around as it happened.  This time, you dazed off, stared out into space with big wide eyes.  I started talking to you, again not realizing at first what was going on.  Then, we saw you start to drool, mouth wide open, drool pouring out.  We instantly knew what was going on.  I jumped out of the car and Daddy quickly picked you up out of the carseat.  We did everything to get you to pay attention.  Nothing worked.  Like last time, your arms and legs were cool but your forehead was burning up.  We started the car and put the air conditioning on high.  We sat in the parking lot with you on Daddy’s lap in the front seat for only a minute before we decided it was better for you to get the air on you directly than to move you to the back seat.  Regardless of this illegal action, I headed for home. 
We took the freeway (thank goodness it is an unpopulated freeway) and drove as fast as I safely could to get you home to give you some Motrin.  The entire way home Daddy was playing with you, trying to get you to respond.  I called the doc and we waited for his/her return call.  As we pulled into the driveway you told us you were cold.  Music to my ears!  You weren’t out of the woods yet, but you were coming back.  We raced inside, stripped you and gave you Motrin.  By this time, your temp under your arm read 98.9 on one side and 100.1 on the other.  Almost the same as last time.
When the doc called they told us they think it is another febrile seizure but cannot be sure.  Each time your temp didn’t read very high but it’s the speed in which the temperature rises that can cause this to happen.  There is nothing that can pinpoint for sure a febrile seizure.  They wanted us to monitor you over the next few days and possibly make an appointment with a pediatric neurologist, which we plan on doing, just in case.  We laid down in the rocking chair and you pulled the blanket up over you.  But then, you immediately asked for lunch.  The turn around on you was remarkable this time.  In less than an hour from it happening, you were already acting almost 100%, like nothing had happened.  So we ate and then put you down for a nap. 
During your nap, you literally wet the bed completely due to all the sweat.  Your hair was wet and matted.  And you started crying after only sleeping for an hour.  We knew you were still not 100%.  We took your temperature again and it was again 98.2 and 98.9, not considered a temp.
We still are not sure what is going on.  Your head was on fire but the rest of your body was cold, and I cannot help but wonder, if like last time, that means you were not getting oxygen to your extremities.  Like I stated earlier, I’m working on getting you an appointment to see a pediatric neurologist and hoping and praying you continue to heal.  This time, it came out of no where as you were not catching a cold, nor were you overheated or dehydrated.  We’re baffled as to why it is happening but also, concerned because there doesn’t seem to be any link as to when it could happen. 
And as I posted in the beginning, “Today is not all there is. Things will NOT continue on forever just the way they are right now. Eternity is quickly approaching, and with it a weight of glory that so far surpasses the troubles we are experiencing that Paul dares to call them “light and momentary” (2 Corinthians 4:17).”
With so much love for you baby girl,
Mommy

2 comments:

  1. Oh, how scary! It is so hard to watch our babies suffer, but I love that verse. Tomorrow is a new day, hopefully with new answers!

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  2. Thank you! Yes, it is so very scary and hoping we have some answers soon!!!

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