So Malcolm had another febrile seizure on Sunday morning (some of you saw my post on FB). He had been acting a little tired all weekend, but given how many bugs we’ve had over the past two months I didn’t think much of it.
It was 10:30am and we were trying to get ready to head out to the fruit and veggie market, and I had just changed M’s diaper and gotten him into his regular clothes. When I brought in his boots, he said he didn’t want to go and wanted to stay home. He then went to lie on his tummy under the kitchen table. You know, standard “almost three” activities.
So I kept getting my own shoes on, turn to get Malcolm, and he has closed his eyes. I look closer and see he is trying to talk and open his eyes but can’t.
I think I knew right then that this was happening again. I picked him up, tried to get him to wake up, and he was still trying to talk with his eyes rolling and closing. He then went totally limp, and I called to Jim to call 911. I kept trying to wake Malcolm and watch his breathing, and we decided right then to drive to the hospital as we could get there quicker (we’re about two blocks away).
Malcolm started coming around as we got to the car. We were at the ER about 2 mintues later. And by then he was burning hot. He kept falling asleep - and when the nurse checked his temp was 104. They gave him tylenol and then ibuprofen 40 minutes later when he was only down a degree. By 1pm he was back to normal and eating a popsicle (and asking if he could run down the “very long hallway right there mommy!”)
So we did better all around. I felt Jim and I understood what was happening, and we were also really clear we didn’t want any invasive testing done this time since there were no indications of a serious infection - the doctor agreed. Like last time it seems it was just a virus that caused the fever. And the thing with febrile seizures is the rapid change in temp, not the illness itself.
Jim stayed home with him Monday, and I was home today. But tomorrow he goes back to daycare and even thought I know he is recovered from the virus and that the seizures do not hurt him, I am just churning over it all. This all happens and I just want us all to stay locked away in our house forever. I don’t want to go back to work, I don’t want to deal with petty issues, and I really don’t want to deal with any more sickness.
I had strange nightmares last night, so obviously I’m still feeling fear and anxiety even though I know he’s fine.
The biggest kick in the pants is having thought we wouldn’t go through this again a year after the first one. Health things suck.
