Another Seizure

This time it was Jacob.

Twice.

Yesterday was an awful day. Jacob woke up feeling a little warm and acting a little crabby. Nothing to get me worried. At noon, I cuddled him up, and a few minutes later, he started seizing.

In my arms.

As I laid him on the ground, I realized he was burning up. How did he get so hot so quickly? He shook - eyes rolled up to the side - for what felt like a lifetime, but was actually just a couple minutes. Memories of Lily's seizure came flooding back. Are you kidding me? Didn't we just go through this? Didn't this JUST HAPPEN?

The paramedics came and all the tests they ran - sugar, heart rate, etc. - came back normal. We decided not to send him to the ER because I knew from experience that they wouldn't do anything for him we couldn't do ourselves in the comfort of our own home. We gave him some Motrin and eventually put him to bed. He woke up happy and full of energy, jumping around and laughing in his crib, like the whole morning never happened. This was hours after the Motrin had worn off, and he had no more fever.

After Ryan came home, we took the family out to run some errands. As we sat in the Wal-Mart parking lot, Ryan glanced at Jacob and saw he we having another seizure. In his car seat. Quiet as can be. What would have happened if we hadn't even noticed?

We took him out of the car and laid him on the ground until it was over. He looked at Ryan, who asked him, "Are you OK buddy?" and Jacob nodded. "Uh-huh." My heart melted. There was my little boy again.

We called his pediatrician again (who saw him earlier in the day after the first seizure), and she told us since he had two within 24-hours, we had to take him to the ER. We got there around 9 p.m. and were immediately taken to an exam room, past everyone waiting. Guess they thought it was pretty serious, too.

After they ran all their tests (which I don't even want to mention...too upsetting), everything came back normal, and we were cleared to go home around midnight. We couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing that they couldn't find out what was wrong with him or what caused the fever - sometimes it's nicer knowing where to put the Band-Aid, you know?

We got home close to 1 a.m.. I took a pillow and blanket into Jacob's room and settled in for the night on seizure watch - no way was I leaving him alone. So I slept "with one eye open" which is really not sleeping at all. Then Samantha was ready to eat (and boy was I ready to feed her!). Then Lily woke up crying. Then I was back on seizure watch until Lily started crying again. And then Samantha was ready to eat again. And so it continued until 6:30 a.m. when Jacob woke up for the day, happy as a clam and raring to go.

Needless to say, I was not ready to get up. My eyes were burning. My whole body and brain were exhausted. Fortunately, we had no more incidents today and he never had another fever (not sure how much the 'round the clock Motrin/Tylenol is to thank for that), and now he's back to bed for the night - butt up in the air and head smooshed into his bumpers, just how he likes it.

I can't help wondering when - not if - this will happen to Samantha? How old will she be before her first seizure? How long before Lily or Jake have another? Will we be on seizure watch for each of them every time they feel slightly warm, until they are 5 or 6 and grow out of febrile seizures? Will we take medicine with us everywhere we go, like parents of kids allergic to bees who always have to have an epi pen with them, so we can start cooling down a fever the moment we think it's coming?

I took lots of pictures. Crazy, I know. Will post when I get them downloaded.