Foreseeing the Fever

Well, the doctor visit was not grim. Sophia did not cry the entire time. I wonder if it was because we unexpectedly had a different doctor or if that was a coincidence.

This doctor, however, recommended that we give Sophia Tylenol any time she has a bad cold. The kicker of this is, we didn't know she was sick until after the seizure. The idea is to prevent a fever so she doesn't seize. I try to foresee hunger, bathroom breaks, boredom, cold, heat, sun protection, battle of wills, sibling clashes, and sleepiness. Foreseeing fever? No, that I can not do. Sophia was normal feeling before the seizure and hot afterward.

See, this is what happened:

Sunday morning, we woke up and made our way downstairs. Doug went to the kitchen to start breakfast and I went to the laundry room to do laundry. All of the sudden, Doug is urgently calling to me. I go in the kitchen and he is holding Sophia. She is very still and staring straight ahead. She start to seize (shake) and turn slightly blue and her eyes roll back. That is when I called 911. They've asked me how long it lasted, but I don't really know. The guy on 911 was great, very calm, and the ambulance and volunteers were there very quickly (they are just down the street). I think 4 people showed up. Maybe it was five.

When she stopped shaking (before help got there), she had this eerie cry like I've never heard before. Then she went into a deep sleep. She would still grip your hand, but she would not wake up. They recommended taking her to the hospital after seeing how non responsive she was. I went with her in the ambulance. That was when we noticed she had the fever. She seemed to get hotter during the drive. The hospital is 20 minutes away, but it seemed much longer. The fever only went up to 101.7 F.

As you know, it all turned out well, but it was terrifying. I kept thinking that because she wouldn't wake up, she was brain damaged. I thought it might be meningitis (it wasn't, her neck wasn't at all stiff). I have this problem of thinking of the worst possible scenarios. I can act all cool and decisive in a crisis, but I am thinking the worst. Afterwards, I am a gooey wet mess.

I am hoping that was our first and last experience with seizures.

In other, more fluffy news, I took Fiona to see Curious George a few weekends ago, and I have to say it was pretty cute. Very age appropriate (she's 4). I really liked the soundtrack.