Seizures are Scary

I have more than 20 years of parenting experience and last night was the scariest night I've ever had with any of my kids.

Just after I got home from work Macy had a seizure and we had to rush her to the ER.  She seized for more than 15 minutes.

It was awful.

Terrifying.



Here's how it happened....

When I came home from work I was surprised that Macy didn't run to meet me like she always does. Dart said Macy was being "cranky" and was "moping  around" because he gave her a time out for being cranky.

(apparently "cranky" and 103 fever look very much alike....grrrr a whole other story.)

I looked over and Macy was standing up but she had her head laying (buried) in a chair.  Immediately it didn't seem right to me.

I picked her up and there was a pool of drool all over the seat of the chair and Macy was rigid in my arms.  As soon as I turned her around to see her face I knew she was in the middle of a seizure.

I think we were out the door in less than a minute.

Thankfully the ER is close, (I could get there faster than calling EMS).

I can't fully express how scared I was. I must have prayed harder in that 5 minute drive than any time in my life.

Dart drove (fast) and I held Macy in my arms wrapped in a blanket, no coat or shoes. I watched as her eyes rolled upward and her body stiffened and she gurgled and, 


I thought she might die.


Oh my God, I am watching my daughter die....Please God did I wait so long just to lose her now... Please God don't take her from me... please, please, please...


Have you been there before, begging God for something? For someone?


I almost can't breathe just thinking about it.


I was shaking and in tears by the time we got to the hospital and I literally ran through the door carrying her and calling for help.

A nurse took her from me immediately and I hurried after her.  Once in the room a team of clinicians descended on Macy while I moved to the corner of the room trying to stay out of their way.


I lost it a little bit in that corner.

More than a little bit.


The physician called it a "complex" febrile seizure: complex because it lasted so long.  Her temp was over 103 and her heart rate (due to the fever) was in the 170's!  She was really sick.

It took hours to get her temp, heart rate and bp close to normal.  Turns out she has (oh and I do too) Influenza A....yup, "just" the flu.

The flu caused a sudden onset fever which (we think) triggered the seizure.

The doc is still a little concerned that she seized for so long and then was disoriented for several hours afterward. We are now supposed to watch for pneumonia symptoms and other seizures.  But both are unlikely.

I know febrile seizures are fairly common in kids but I sure didn't know how scary it is to watch MY child have one.

My beautiful little Macy Bel...don't you ever scare mommy like that again!