Thought I would fill everyone in on what's been going on around our neck of the woods the past few days.
On Easter morning, I woke up to Fiona having a seizure (this is seizure number 3...The first two took place on Christmas of 2010 and 2011...the girl has an aversion to holidays). When it didn't stop after 5 minutes, I had Jim call 911. By the time the paramedics showed up, she had been seizing for almost 20 minutes and her lips were turning blue. I went with Fi in the ambulance and watched as they tried to get a response from her and find a vein to start an IV and get her some meds to stop the seizure. They finally got everything going and her convulsions started slowing down. They were trying to decide whether or not to give her more medication to stop it...but if they did, they would risk her body forgetting to breathe. Finally, after nearly 40 minutes she was still and her eyes were no longer fixed and staring off into space. We got to the hospital and they immediately got her into a room and started working on her. They started drawing blood to run tests and the doctor told me that they would be keeping her over night for observation because when children seize for such a long period of time, the chance of another seizure soon after is very high.
After about an hour, they got us admitted and set up in a room. Fiona was still passed out at this point. The neurologist compared having a seizure to running a marathon...physically exhausting...plus the medication they gave her is a type of valium and makes you tired. She woke up around 2:45 and was very confused. She knew who Jim and I were, but couldn't remember her own name...didn't know who Dora was, but recognized a horse. We were quite concerned. My brother and his girlfriend came to visit us and while we were visiting with them, Fiona had another "episode" that I am quite positive was another seizure, but didn't present with the flailing limbs. Her eyes were moving back and forth, but not focusing on anything...and she was unresponsive. She came to and then fell asleep for about 20 minutes, and when she woke up, she was back to normal. She wasn't confused and she was ready to play. Grandma and Grandpa came to visit a little later and her fever spiked to 103.8. More meds and finally time for bed...sleeping in a hospital is not an easy task in general, but add someone coming in to check Fiona's vitals every 45 minutes and it was brutal.
At 8:00 they came to wake us up and immediately began stabbing Fiona to draw some blood (what a wonderful way to start your day...NOT). We also began our super long wait for the neurologist to come and see us. Fi was running a fever all day and they were still trying to find out what was causing her fever that caused the seizure (her brain can't handle the sudden spike in fever...so it's not about how high the fever is, it's about of fast it rises)...urine and blood were clear and she has no symptoms of a cold or virus. Aunt Angie came to visit and hang out with us and we also got a visit from my bff's mom, my other bff and Eoghan. Finally, the neurologist showed up, but was distracted by pages. Eventually, she was able to come in and explain things to me. Essentially, Fiona had a complex febrile seizure, in the "grand mal" category. Typically, a seizure lasts between 30 and 60 seconds. All of Fiona's have been 5 minutes or longer and at least 2 of the times have happened without her being actively sick. She will probably suffer from febrile or fever seizures until she outgrows them between 5 and 7 years old. We will be going home with a couple doses of "stop seizure medication" to keep us ready in the event that another one occurs. The odds of her having epilepsy are pretty small, but they are going to take her for an EEG in the morning to monitor her brain waves to see if there is anything "funny" that pops up. After that, if they still haven't found a reason for her fevers, they will probably cut off her cast to see if there is an infection on the skin underneath it.
Basically everything is a big ol' question mark right now, and I have a feeling they won't know why she has a fever all of a sudden. We are going on night 2 of our hospital stay while I am grateful for all of the fantastic care that has been given to our daughter and the amazing support our family and friends have shown us, I am ready to sleep in my own bed and pee in my own toilet. Fiona misses her brother and sister and wants to go home...someone tell her body to cut the crap so we can go home!!?? LOL. Will update again when we know more. Thanks again to everyone. You are appreciated beyond words.
