Seizure and 911...

Jack had a slight fever yesterday so I kept him home from school. He spent the day on the couch soaking in cartoons and not really eating or drinking much at all. I knew he was coming down with something but overall just seemed tired. He perked up when daddy came home and got off the sofa for the first time in several hours and played with Morgan while Jason and I watched the news. Jack stood up at the table in our living room with Morgan under his feet and suddenly tensed up and flew backwards a lot like a solid brick of ice -- and landed on the back of his head on the hardwood floor. For a brief second I thought he had just lost his balance, until I realized he was still rigid and turning grey. I pulled him away from the table by his foot and Jason grabbed the diastat and called 911. He wasn't breathing because he was locked in a tonic phase and really turning grey/blue. I administered 5 mg of diastat and his body released from the clenched, rigid tone to loose and floppy and he began breathing very shallow breaths. The paramedics, fire department and police got here within moments and he was coming out of the seizure but was still unresponsive. They took his stats and medical info and loaded him onto a board with a neck brace and secured him so he couldn't move as a precaution for the nasty fall he had. Jason stayed with Morgan and I rode in the ambulance. During the ride to the medical center Jack was coming to and was agitated because he was strapped down. Once we got to the hospital he was responsive and asking for a drink. Jason had called my family to come watch Morgan and he arrived at the hospital shortly after we did. The ER was quiet so we got attention pretty quickly. They took blood to test for medication levels and started an iv for fluids. They took him for a head and neck CT scan and we waited for the results. His blood levels came back low and his CT scan came back clear. We were released after several hours of observation with instructions to increase his valproic acid and follow up by phone with peds and neurology today. Jack went to bed shortly after we came home. Morgan, on the other hand, was thrilled to be spending time with Grandma, daddy and mommy and wondered why we don’t have late night “parties” like this more often. So far this morning Jack is tired and coughing and again, slightly feverish. I will be setting up an appointment with his pediatrician in the next day to make sure he’s getting better and not in need of antibiotics.

There was no warning with this seizure…no twitches, no vomiting or lip smacking…nothing. It came on so quickly and suddenly. I keep replaying the scene over and over and can’t get the sound of his precious little head hitting the floor out of my mind. I have made the executive decision to get carpeting in our living room and hallway. In fact, while I’m making executive decisions, any way we can simply carpet and pad the rest of the world too?

I will keep you all posted. Keep our little man in your thoughts and prayers and send plenty of “NO MORE SEIZURES” vibes our way.