Not Our First Rodeo

Remember that horrible day last year when Marley had to go to the emergency room by ambulance twice in one day?

Well we got to experience Round 2 a couple months ago, with Cohen this time.

It was a week before his first birthday. He had a fever so I was keeping a close watch on him. I had been holding him all day long. We were out of Tylenol so I called my brother who was visiting and asked him to pick some up on the way home.

That night, while still in my arms, Cohen's eyes rolled back, his body started shaking and he wasn't responding to me. I shrieked for Conway telling him that Cohen was having a seizure and dialed 9-1-1.

It took forever for the ambulance to arrive. The seizure itself didn't last long but Cohen was unresponsive and not himself for at least twenty minutes. If you've never experienced anything like this with your child, trust me, it is a long and horrifying twenty minutes. Having been through it before with Marley made me a tiny bit more calm; but whether you've experienced it before or not, seeing your precious, innocent baby in that state is not easy.

They did a few tests at the ER then sent us home late that night with instructions to keep his fever in check (alternating Tylenol and Motrin round the clock and using cold compresses against his neck and forehead) and take him to his regular doctor in the morning for a follow-up.

The next day while at the doctor's office, she sent us downstairs to have blood drawn. Just after the lab technician finished drawing his blood, Cohen started having another seizure. I yelled for someone to get the doctor and proceeded to hold my shaking baby while trying to comfort the poor lab technician who was beside herself with fear and panic.

When the doctor finally arrived downstairs Cohen had finished convulsing but had turned blue. She immediately called 9-1-1 and an ambulance took Cohen and I to another hospital in Honolulu where he received all sorts of tests, was strapped down to a table, was poked and prodded and having a downright not-so-great day.

They put in an IV and we went by ambulance to yet another hospital where they checked us in for the night. Little Cohen was hooked up to monitors and machines and nurses came in to give him meds and check his temperature all through the night.

They finally sent us home with the instructions that should either of our children show any signs of a fever in the future, we must "aggressively" fight the fever and bring it down as quickly as possible.

So yes, my children are prone to having febrile seizures. No, no one gets any sleep at all around here when there is a fever in the house. Yes, they are both doing well now. No, there are no lasting side effects or problems from having febrile seizures. Yes, I have had to call 9-1-1 twice per child now. No, I never want that to happen again.

These babies are precious little treasures. Oh, how grateful I am for them. For their good health, their strong minds and bodies and every blessed moment of being their mommy.