The Worst Night Of My Life

08/02/2016

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Monday 1st February @ 8:30 ish pm, was like most nights. We had our tea as a family, I got the boys into their pyjamas while Mr B done the dishes and James kissed his brother and said good night like he would most nights. As we live in a 'granny flat' attached to my in-laws house Mr B took James up to see his nanny while I done some ironing down in the bedroom (okay so I quickly blasted them with the steamer and hung them up, biggest time saver ever!!). James had a dirty nappy so they came back down to the house and got changed...

Then it happened.

The shouts for help.

All I can remember was hearing 'Laura its James come quick, come quick' at first I thought that James had an explosive nappy that needed extra assistance but when he shouted again I knew something was wrong. I could hear the fear in my husbands voice as he shouted for me to hurry. I ran as quick as I could down to the living room, where James was getting changed, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My precious little boy who I was laughing and playing with, who kissed his brother goodnight and happily waving bye bye to him, was having a seizure. His eyes were glazed and he was shaking uncontrollably. I shouted to my husband to ring for an ambulance and ran up to my mother in laws house for help and to see if anything had happened to him while he was up there. While there he continued shaking and started foaming up at the mouth and going blue. I had no idea what was happening. I thought he was dying. Mr B was on the phone to the ambulance service and they told us to put him in the recovery position. All the while my precious boy was still shaking. I was shaking. Then all of a sudden he just stopped, his eyes still glazed and rolled in the back of his head. I immediately checked his pulse as I thought he was dying on me. I have never experienced anything like this before in my life. He was lying on the kitchen floor motionless and floppy. I felt so helpless. It felt like it took the paramedics forever to come but it was only 10-15 minutes. I can safely say they were the longest minutes of my life. The paramedic took a heart trace and done all his obs, he told us that he thinks he has had a febrile seizure and that he would call an ambulance to get him checked out in hospital. Thankfully while we were in the ambulance James started to come round and the first thing he done was call out for his brother Harry, which immediately made my heart go from being torn into a thousand pieces to being completely melted. At the hospital the doctors wanted to keep him in over night for observation and take bloods the next morning. I didn't sleep much all night worrying about him and praying that everything would be ok. The nurses checked him over night and his temperature had started creeping up and spiking to 39 degrees so they gave him paracetamol and nurofen to help make him a bit more comfortable and bring the temperature down. In the morning he had his blood work done and the results all came back clear. However the Dr wanted to send him for an EEG to check his brain waves as when the seizure happened there was no real signs of him being unwell or having a high temperature so he wasn't confident in saying it was a febrile seizure and wanted to check for signs of epilepsy. That meant another nights stay in the hospital and more worry for a sleep deprived mummy. All night and into the next morning his temperature was still spiking so he was stripped of his closes and was left to rock around the ward in his nappy! He seemed happy enough by this showing off his nappy to everyone, pointing to the characters! That afternoon he went for his EEG and thankfully everything was clear. Due to his high temperatures following the seizure the doctors and specialists from another hospital felt confident enough that it was a febrile seizure which was caused by an underlying illness. They also assured me that febrile seizures are very common in young children, especially between 6months - 5 years.

 
 
Never in my life do I want to witness any of my children having a seizure again. The helplessness that you feel will never compare to anything that you have ever experienced before. I would highly recommend reading up on febrile seizures and what to do if, god forbid, it ever happens one of your little ones. I have attached a link from the NHS website that has loads of information about what it is and what you can do if it should happen and how to prevent it from happening.


Has this ever happened any of your children? Did they ever have it again? I would love to hear your experiences in the comments bellow.


 
 
Let's Talk Mommy

16 comments:

  1. You poor love. That must have been so scary. Thank goodness everything is ok now xx

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    1. Thanks lovely. Just glad it was down to the fever and not epilepsy. Hope to God it doesnt happen him again x

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  2. So sorry to hear you experienced this. We have a good friend who's daughter has had them a few times and she actually has just come out of a hospital stay. All I can say is I hope you don't endure one again but if you do I'm sure your in the safest hands at hospital! They are fairly common in young children so fingers crossed it was just a one off xxx

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    1. Really? Thats awful. Thankfully it has only happened James the once so far but I know im going to into a crazy mum if he gets sick or a slight temp again checking him with the thermometer!! lol. x

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  3. My daughter has had a febrile seizure when she was 10 months old. She suffers from water infections due to issues with her kidneys, luckily we had gone to the hospital as she already had a high temp and while we were been booked in she went ridged and started shaking. It was so scary and I am so glad it didn't happen at home as I wouldn't of known what to do. But similar to you I found out through the horrible experience of my child having a seizure. Thank fully she have never had a fit since and she is 4 now but it's doesn't stop me worrying that she will every time she has a high temperature.

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    1. Really? I have been talking to a coupe of people now and their child has had one before, I didn't realise how common it can be. Luck you were already at hospital and they could give you their assistance right away. I hope she never has one again! x

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  4. Oh my goodness, this must have been such a terrifying experience. I'm so glad to hear James is okay. I have a friend whose little boy keeps having febrile seizures, related to temperature rises. She says the support from the NHS has been amazing. We are so lucky to have that in this country. x

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    1. it was horrible, especially because he was so well before it happened. There was no warning signs. That must be awful for your friend having to witness that. I just hope it doesnt happen to James again. The NHS has been fantastic, very lucky to have them indeed! x

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  5. I would panic like anything. It's every mothers worst nightmare. Teacher2Mummy who blogs as well (although a bit less frequently now as she's gone back to work) has a son who suffers from frequent febrile convulsions. She's written a couple of posts about it which could be useful, because I think once they've had one they are more prone to them. http://www.teacher2mummy.com <-- her blog page. x

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    1. I know its awful I wouldnt wish it upon anyone. Thanks so much Hun will have to have a little read once the kids go to bed tonight :) xx

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  6. Aah bless you — that must have been terrifying. I had a similar ordeal when we found out that one of the twins is allergic to egg. A ride in the back of an ambulance with the blue lights on — so scary x

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    1. oh no really? That must have been equally terrifying! the wee pet. They definitely keep us on our toes! You never know what will happen next. Hopefully that will be both our run ins with the ambulance finished xx

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  7. Oh my gosh how scary. I'm so glad that he's ok now and thanks for sharing this story as it sounds like it could happen to any child. Well done for staying so strong through this xx

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  8. Oh lovely, I am so sorry you all went through that. It sounds horrible and even worse when there's nothing you can do to help :( I'm glad he is OK now :)

    Gemma xx

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  9. Gosh, this sounds terrifying. Poor James. It is terrifying when they are this ill. You feel helpless and just want to take all the pain away. We had a similar experience with Little Miss H when she was 18 months old. She was rushed into hospital in the back of an ambulance because she had suspected meningitis. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. My heart was breaking as I held her limp body in my arm in the ambulance. I am so glad he is better and hopefully you will be able to forget about that textile night soon. Hugs Lucy xxxx

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  10. Omg that sounds awful to cope with. I am so glad that he's better now. Xx

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