The Emergency Room Visits of October 2013

This is going to be long. I haven't really documented this event, so this is more for me than for you or for pity or to complain. It's going to be a lot of complaining, I think, so I'm sorry about that…

In advance, know that we are all doing well and C is healthy.

The last weekend of October, C got quite sick. He was throwing up, tired, sad…

We didn't think much of it except just a tummy bug.

I stayed home with C for some of church and J switched me places so I could go to Young Women's.

This picture is from Monday the 28th at about 9. Just unhappy and sick and not able to keep anything in his system.

At 11, I was sitting on the floor looking at his picture book of Christ with him on my lap when he went rigid.

His back arched, he stopped breathing, and his eyes rolled back in his head. He wouldn't respond and still kept on not breathing. I frantically called 911 and told them my baby wasn't breathing.

The guy on the phone told me to lay C on his back and make sure nothing was in his airway. Then, when I checked and found nothing, he said to just keep him calm until help could come.

He came to after about a minute and cried. He just cried and cried and was soooo tired that he zonked. 

The ambulance came and helped me by calming me down, telling me everything would be fine, and taking me and C to the ER.

On the way, he said that C could have had a seizure (which is what I had thought and figured it must be) and it could have been from a spike in his temperature.

Thing is, C hadn't had a temperature. Just throwing up.

I got hold of J and he left work as quickly as he could to come help me.

This is in the ER after a blood draw, several failed catheters, and lots of scary nurses and Drs with gloves.

Everything came back normal. He didn't have a fever, his blood was clean, his breathing was normal, they couldn't get any urine because he couldn't relax to get the catheter in, so they just wanted to get what they could with what they had.

The assumption was that he had a seizure-like episode because of throwing up, so they prescribed a tablet to put under his tongue to keep him from throwing up.

We went home about 2 hours later. We got some McDonald's on our way, got home, ate, got some crackers into C, and right at the end of the meal, C threw up allll over me and the chair I was in. (about 3)

I went over to clean up and wipe down, then sat on the floor with him to calm him down and another "episode" started. Same place, similar situation, but his eyes stayed open. 

He was still unresponsive, it still lasted the same amount of time, and he woke up crying, then fell asleep like the first time.

We got in the car, called the ER and told them we were on our way again, and rushed to the hospital.

The tests came back clean again, he still couldn't give them any urine, he was angrier with them, his Gma came, we walked around the halls, watched tv, and did whatever we could to keep him happy. He wanted NOTHING to do with the room, people in scrubs, and definitely tools. 

At one point, I sat down on the Dr.'s swiveling stool (you know the one I'm talking about… the one we all have wanted to spin around on) with C and sat at the sink where he proceeded to play and play and play and got me SOAKED! But he was happy, I was wet and covered in puke, but I was happy because he was finally happy.

The Pediatric Neural Physician said he wasn't too worried because C was a healthy boy and recommended we just go home so he could be comfortable.

So we went home. After another 2 1/2 hours or so.

Then at 6, I was sitting on the floor, reading him a book to calm him down after giving him some tylenol or something like that and it happened again. C's Gma was there helping us get settled in when it happened. 

By this time, we didn't FREAK out as much as time one and two because we knew there wasn't anything to do at that time.

We called our neighbors (she had texted me earlier to ask if everything was alright because she saw the ambulance. She then offered us food that she'd made and had ready for us) and had him help J give C a blessing. I stayed on the floor, holding C in the kitchen. Then, while J got things gathered together, I just cried. Linda (C's Gma) held me and comforted me.

She was such a blessing to me that day. She helped me, strengthened me, kept me going. I know it was so very hard for her, but I am thankful she was there.

So we left for the ER and called them in the car. They told us to go to Downtown Boise to the Pediatric ER especially since it was late (-er). 

At the Pediatric ER, we got him all dressed in the (adorable) little gown, they got him on an IV, and got a catheter to work. We told the whole day's story again, described the seizure/episode again, relived it again… It was so difficult.

Then we waited.

An Hour? 2? It felt like forever. Linda went and got us dinner at about 8, so I think we were down in the receiving room for about 2 hours.

The nurses brought in a pretty cool thing, though. I wish I could've gotten a picture of it. It was a large clear tube with water in it with a bubble maker and lights in the bottom of it. There were fiber optic lights to play with too. So we turned off the lights and played with this soother for a good 45 minutes-hour. When dinner came, we were moved upstairs to a room to spend the night in.

They wanted to watch C the whole night, get him on an oxygen reader-a little probe on his big toe- and just watch.

So we came upstairs, told the story, moved into a little 9x9 square, and thankfully didn't have to get poked. The IV was difficult because having a cord attached to a 15 month old who only wants to play is very very hard. He got used to it and used to the board to hold it there on his little hand eventually.

After lots of questions and 2 hours, they gave him a drug that should help him not have any seizures (by this point, we were all quite sure they were seizures, not just little episodes) and would put him to sleep.

So at 10, we waited for him to fall asleep. 

This was him when he finally did fall asleep.

Pads on the sides because of seizures, an IV, a board on his arm to keep the IV in place…

I had to put every diaper on the scale and throw away wipes (use your own wipes if you go to the hospital. Theirs are cruddy…useful tip…)

J went home for the night. I stayed there and slept on the couch. Before he left, he got me a toothbrush, toothpaste, a contact case and solution. 

The night was uneventful. Thank heavens. But I slept horribly. Those couches are NOT comfortable. And sleeping in jeans because people come in every 3 hours is not great either. 

At about 7, C woke up pretty happy. Groggy, but happy. And HUNGRY. A the same time, an EEG crew came to run an EEG on him. It's a test where they put lots and lots of probes on the head and measure electrical impulses from the brain for about 20 minutes.

Putting the probes on is a very time-consuming task. They put a cleansing goo on the head (like a sugar scrub), then put a soft goo (like crisco) on the probe, then stick it to the head. 

So while the lady is doing this, I'm PRAYING J is on his way soooooon, holding C, trying to keep him still and from pulling wires because apparently the crisco goo is supposed to keep the probes there? 

He calmed down the most when I gave him milk. 

Then threw up allll over me again.

Bah! I felt soooo gross! (thankfully, I had ordered clean everything from J when he returned)

So the lady took off the probes, took her computer, and left us in our messy, crying fun.

They would order the EEG when he was napping. (Ha!)

So J got there soon after the most recent vomit and I got to shower. Ah, the powers of a healing shower so you can cry and wipe off all the vomit and tears and slobber and snot (not your own…) and come out a better mommy.

We ordered food for C and me. I ate most, but he was interested in crackers and small things here and there.

Because of his IV, he started having lots more wet diapers. As the day went on, he even had some stools. They wanted to get some tests on those, so I happily handed over the stinky diaper 

(poor nurses! Gross!)

So we had lunch, tried to play, tried to eat, and struggled to keep him happy. Poor kid had gotten a reputation as the crying baby. And because he had thrown up, they had to put on those big gowns, masks, and gloves every time they came in. I don't think that made them more likable.

The EEG people came in at about 12 and got to work. This group was a little more stubborn. We pulled the rails down on the crib, I held one end, and J held the other of poor C while he SCREAMED bloody murder the entire 30 minutes it took to put all the probes on (with tape this time, thankfully).

The part I worried about the most was that during the EEG, they want them to be as calm as possible.

Amazingly enough, we finished putting the probes on him, wrapped him up like a psych patient, and he zonked.

He was so tired. This picture breaks my heart every single time I look at it. Every. Single. Time.

Look at all of those wires! And my poor tired babe!

 He slept through the entire thing. I was so proud. When we took off the probes, he woke up and wanted to play. The guy said that the goo would come out with water...

 it didn't… :)

I love his hair here. Makes him look soooo cute!

After a little bit, we wanted him to nap. And I needed one, too!

So since the window was rather bright, we put a sheet on his crib, but he saw that as a peek-a-boo game…

Napping didn't really work that day. :)

Dinner time, he was a happier, kinder kid. Linda came, J and I escaped to get dinner (with orders to not touch anything like our face and then the door because we'd held C), then came back with some food for C. He ate a lot more than any of the meals in the past 3 days, and threw cocoa puffs around the room while laughing. Oh, it made me feel so much better. (and I knew I didn't have to clean it up… :) )

The Dr's decided his seizures were from dehydration and being sick. So he was sick, his seizure threshold is lower than most, and then he was dehydrated, so his body went into a seizure. Three times. We still hadn't gotten results back from his stool. They were wondering about a bacteria.

He was prescribed a rectal medicine if he has another seizure lasting 5 minutes (KILL ME if that happens!!) or more than one in 12 hours.

I got to watch a video explaining how to do it, we packed, searched frantically for lost keys, and finally left at about 9.

This is him on our way out. Happily able to wiggle his fingers where the IV had stopped him. He had had to learn how to crawl with a stump instead of a wrist because bending his wrist meant kinking the IV. I'm amazed at his strength through this ordeal!

So we got home, put him straight to bed, and set an alarm to check on him every 3 hours. It was a long night, but an uneventful night.

The next day, we were able to sit and relax. I freaked out at every cough or pause, but he was fine.

This is us the next day. He was obviously tired, but definitely felt a lot better.

He has had no signs of seizures since October. He has been happy and healthy and we are thankful for it. We worry when he cries for so long that he'll make himself seize. But hopefully we can prevent that.
I will never forget what it felt like to hold a 15 month old who was having a seizure.
I will never forget what it looked like.
I will never forget what it felt like to panic and wonder what you were doing wrong.
I will always be thankful that it was only that one time. But I will probably see that in my head for the rest of my life.
However...
That weekend in Young Women's, we were challenged to write at least 2 things we were thankful for in a thankful journal.
My list was full of important things like modern medicine, ambulances, blessings…
I am so thankful for the blessings we have in this day. I'm thankful for the priesthood and that I have a husband who is worthy and willing to bless us with that power. I am so thankful my sweet boy is healthy and happy.