Our parenting nightmare, part 1

So I've been getting up my nerve to post about this for a while now, and now that we think the drama is over, here goes... (It's long, I warn you. You might consider just skimming it or reading it in stages.)


**Part 1**

Drew and I have been so blessed with Sydney. She has been easy to raise in so many ways, not the least of which is that she's always been so incredibly healthy. But the month of October has jolted us into an increased awareness and thankfulness of that fact. Here's a rundown of the last month with our little girl:


October 2: Sydney suffers a seizure lasting two minutes. I can't bring myself to go into all the details - most people have an idea of what a seizure looks like - but suffice it to say that those were the most terrifying two minutes of my life. We were at Barb Forbes' home with several friends - she had simply been playing on the carpet with other toddlers - and fell right into the lap of my friend Colleen, a nurse. Someone calls 911 and by the time she's regained consciousness, the paramedics have arrived. We take her by ambulance to the closest hospital, Providence Newberg.

Now I have never had occasion to ride in an ambulance before: I don't recommend first experiencing this with your 2-year-old. She screams the whole way, but at this point I am just relieved that she is awake enough to cry.

Upon arriving at the hospital (Drew meets us there), we strip her down and dose her with Tylenol - she is burning up with a 104.6 degree fever, which had led to a febrile seizure. (I'd recommend clicking on this link to learn more about this, especially if you have little ones of your own, as they are more common than I realized.) Basically, her temperature had risen so high so rapidly that her little body just couldn't handle it. The rapid part is the key. Hannah had been with us earlier that morning and will attest: Sydney had been absolutely fine before...happy and playing and jabbering. Hadn't even felt warm to the touch.

The seizures, I learn, though very scary to witness, are not harmful and cause no permanent brain damage (though that's hard to believe at the time when you're watching your daughter's lips turn blue.) They are also hereditary - Drew had them a few times when he was little, as did his mom.

* * * * *

During her brief stay in the ER as her temperature came down, we choose to indulge Sydney twice: the first is with a Nutter Butter - one of her first sugary treats ever. (Warranted, wouldn't you agree?) This was presented to her after we were assured the danger of another seizure - and therefore, choking - was past.

The other indulgence is what finally got her to calm down in the first place. I was just introduced to "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" this spring and it's the only show I'll let her actually sit down in front of and watch. She is mesmerized by it and calls the eight kids her "babies." Never mind that they're all older than her. When a commercial dares to interrupt, she gets impatient and demands "More babies! I need my babies!"

So while she was in the ER, all screaming and fevered and panicky - Drew knew just what to do. He switched on the TV and found…Sydney's "babies." She calmed right down and so did her terrified mama. It gave the nurses a laugh, too. So I guess thank you to Jon & Kate and the twins and sextuplets for making that awful situation a little more bearable.

* * * * *

After all of this, the underlying cause of the fever is determined to be strep (though without a culture), and she is prescribed a course of penicillin.

After two years of nurturing for and loving on and watching out for and protecting one little soul with all I've got, it somehow comes as a shock to me to be bludgeoned with the fact that I am not, after all, in total control of what befalls my little girl.

But God's hand was visible: I was with friends at the time (usually at that time of day I'd be at home alone with her); we were in a safe place with a nurse present (we'd been in the car 20 minutes earlier); the seizure was comparatively short (I've since read online that febrile seizures can last 15 minutes or more); Drew did not witness the seizure and was thereby protected from the shock of that (I on the other hand couldn't sleep well for a few days as I kept reliving it); it confirmed once again our choice for me to stay home full-time to be with her, that I didn't have to hear about the incident from some day care facility.

* * * * *

Thank you so much to the friends who were with me when it happened: Barb, Amy, Colleen, Michelle, Hannah, Kelsey. Though my mind couldn't process it during the instant, you were of extreme comfort and encouragement as you prayed over us and handled the practicalities of getting us medical care and making sure we were fed and staying in the waiting room until you knew she was ok. God surrounded me with friends who dearly loved Sydney that day, and I'll never think of those moments without remembering that.