Moments

We all have those moments in life, little snippets of the past, that we look back on and either laugh or cry at the memory.  Some are good, some bad and some just in between.  But none so far can compare to the scary moment that we had last week with Jamison.

 

Last Wednesday night was just a regular night in our house and we noticed before Jamison's bedtime that he was feeling pretty warm.  J took his temperature and it was 103.4!  Jamison very very rarely is sick let alone has a fever so we had a slight freak out moment.  We called the urgent pediatric care office that we've taken Jamison too before and after being on hold for 30 minutes, they advised us to just give him Tylenol instead of bringing him in since he was acting completely normal.  Then to alternate every 3 hours with Motrin.  He didn't eat his dinner that night (which is not like him at all), but other than that, he was playing and laughing and just being his typical self.

 

Fast forward another 30 minutes after his Tylenol dosage and I'm rocking him to sleep.  I always sing him a song and tell him how much I love him during this time.  Then I say "give Momma a kiss?" and he'll lift his head up and give me a big ole kiss.  After this, we rock for another minute or two and then he gets put into his crib.  That night though, as we were rocking one last time, he got really tense on me and started twitching.  I immediately knew something was wrong.

 

I called for J and sensing the urgency in my voice and the fact that his temp was so high, he ran into Jamison's nursery.  By then, he was full on having a seizure.  J called 911 and got Jamison from me.  I was in full freak out mode, hysterically crying and just thinking a million thoughts in my head about what was going on with my baby.  The look on his face is something that I don't think I'll ever forget.  The way J just clinged to him and told him that everything would be alright, the way he tried to calm me down....thank God he was in town that night and not traveling for work. 

 

The ambulance was there in less than three minutes, they reassured us that everything would be okay and let us both ride to the hospital all together.  I don't even know if I could've driven that night.  J sat in the back with Jamison while I sat in the cab of the ambulance.  It was terrifying being up there and not knowing how he was.  I could turn around and look through a little window but I couldn't see them at all.  At one point, the EMT guy was getting something towards the front and I asked him how he was.  He said he was doing good and was on oxygen at the moment.  That calmed my nerves just a little bit. 

 

The driver kept me slightly distracted.  He told me of his 4 month old son and his wife who had such bad acid reflux during her pregnancy that her voice was permanently altered from it.  He made me laugh when he said she used to have the sweetest sounding voice and now it sounded like she smoked two packs a day!  I know this was his job, but he sure knew everything to say to make me feel at ease.

 

By the time we got to the hospital, Jamison had fallen asleep in J's arms.  It was already 2 hours passed his bedtime and that on top of the seizure, really wore him out.

 

We got in and saw a nurse first.  She took his temperature and his fever had gone down.  She explained to us that the Febrile Seizure he had is actually common amongst kids between 6 months and 5 years old.  This happens when the fever reaches a high point very quickly.  We only noticed his fever when he was already at 103.4.  I keep thinking that maybe this wouldn't have happened if we had noticed it earlier in the night.  She said that most of the time, they come out of it and are tired, but there are no long term effects.  While this gave me a moment of relief, I still thought back to that actual moment when it was happening and how helpless my sweet baby boy was.  Cue the tears again.

 

After that brief visit we were sent to the waiting room with about 20 other families and we were seen by the nurse practioner on call about 2 1/2 hours later.  She checked him out and determined that his right ear was irritated and that the fever was probably the start of an ear infection. It seemed so funny to me at the time that an ear infection - something Jamison has never had - is what could've caused all of this.  BUT, I'm not a doctor so we didn't question anything.  She gave us a prescription for Amoxicillin plus instructions to continue the Tylenol/Motrin for the next day. 

 

5 hours later, we were home and exhausted.  J and I prayed something fierce that night, thanking God that our baby was alright and praying that we never have to go through something like that again. 

 

The next few days, he did great.  He ran a low grade fever before his nap on Friday that we treated and then he had a follow-up appointment with his pediatrician that afternoon as well and the fever was gone.  And he was fever free throughout the weekend so he got to go back to school today.  I'm sure he was really excited to be out of our house!

 

In the years to come, he will never remember this moment, we will, but I'm glad he won't.  We kept his little hospital gown and his ankle ID they gave him along with a random cord that the EMT guys let him play with.  I still think about eveything now and get choked up.  Pregnancy hormones are definitely not helping with that.  I can't imagine going through anything else with him.  Any sickness or hurt.  I know as he grows, there will be bumps and bruises, possibly broken arms (lets hope not), and a million other things that probably only happen to boys.  Nothing prepares you for what you feel when your child is hurting.  My heart breaks for the families that have to go through serious medical conditions with their precious children.  I just hope and pray for their healing and peace and that we will never have to go through that. 

 

We are so very thankful for our family and friends who checked on him that night and the days after and those that came to the hospital.  Jamison got a cookie delivery and an edible arrangement the next day that we finally polished off yesterday.  We got a yummy ham from our neighbor and a balloon and cake from another.  We are surrounded by loving and caring people and for that, I'm grateful.