Kristen's Seizure

Yesterday we had a scary experience. About 10:00 am Kristen had a seizure. I was down in the laundry room when I heard her fall in the kitchen. I ran upstairs to see how she was. She was on the floor but not near anything to climb on. I scooped her up and went back to the laundry room, when I noticed she was acting very strange. She was arching back away from me and jerking a little and gagging. Her eyes were very dilated and rolling back with her eye lids wide open like she was scared. I thought she was going to throw-up or choking on something, since she has had had a stomach bug since Tuesday night. We ran to the kitchen sink and I was holding her on an incline and patting her back, but she continued to jerk and gag.

At this point her coloring started to look awful; her lips were turning a little blue and she was very white. She also started drooling. I immediately called 911 and they sent an ambulance. (Actually they sent two police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck. It was quite the scene in front of our house.) Before any of them arrived Kristen did start breathing again in short gasping breaths, but her eyes were still staring off into space. The seizure itself probably lasted about a minute. The police officer arrived first and had me lay her on the couch. He made sure she was breathing and then the paramedics came in and gave her some oxygen. She was still out of it but did fuss when they pricked her finger. She was very white and dazed. They told me they wanted her to go to the hospital and took her to the ambulance. I actually didn't even see her go because I was trying to make phone calls. I couldn't go with her because I still had to make arrangements for the other kids. You might say I kept my head during the important part, but panic took over once the police and ambulance got there. When they asked me if there was anyone I could leave the other kids with I said yes, but I couldn't remember the names of any of my neighbors or ward members. My mind was racing but unable to remember anything. I did call two people, but they weren't home and I was left staring at the ward list unable to find the names of anyone else I knew. This was a little crazy since there are tons of people I could call. Finally I recognized one name and hurried and called her. I also had three other neighbors show up at the front door. They had seen the commotion and come over to see if I needed any help. What a relief. Allison and Hunter went next door and Ashton and Loryn went to the friend I had called.

The ambulance left with Kristen, I made final arrangements for the other kids to go to different homes, and then I hurried and went to the hospital. When I arrived Kristen was in the ER screaming at the top of her lungs with one nurse holding her and several others trying to help. She recognized me, but even I couldn't console her. She was MAD!! The doctor said it was normal for a child her age to be very upset and irritable for several hours after a seizure. It took three of us to hold her down while wrapped up in a blanket in order to get an IV in her arm. It didn't help that the first try didn't work. They took several blood samples to test her electrolytes and to do cultures. They also decided to sedate her since they wanted to do an MRI and X-rays and needed a urine sample and there was no way to get any of those things otherwise.

Before I left home I called Dave and he called my parents. He takes the bus to Salt Lake every morning which means he doesn't have a car at his disposal. My parents picked him up from work and brought him to the hospital. He and my dad gave Kristen a blessing as she slept after coming out of the sedation.

To finish the story, all the results of the test came back normal. Everything looked fine. Their only explanation was that maybe she spiked a fever despite not having a fever before or after the seizure. Otherwise maybe it was just a fluke. They told me to follow up with her pediatrician on Monday so that is what we are going to do. We walked out of the hospital around 2:00 pm.

Today she has been completely normal except she continues to have diarrhea and she threw-up again tonight. I just hope she and Loryn get over this stomach bug soon and that we don't have any more seizures.