we celebrate this Thanksgiving. In the midst of our stress and what feels like an unending trial, we are ever grateful for all the blessings and gifts God has given-- our families, our friends, clothes and shelter, hot running water, enough $ to pay the bills and buy groceries, our health, our cars, and sweet Brayden.
Four nights ago we experienced the scare of our lives as parents. After leaving a Thanksgiving party early, we came home to find Brayden had a 102.5 fever. Sure, it happens, but he has never had a fever that high! As instructed by the on-call nurse, we continued with Tylenol every 4 hours and dressed him in light clothing for bed. It wasn't enough. At 3:30am I went in to check on him after hearing some coughing and wimpering. As soon as I entered the room he went into a seizure! Panicked I yelled to Chris to come quick, something was terribly wrong. He immediately dialed 911 and the police, paramedics and firemen were there within minutes. I was trying to comfort him, holding him and telling him "mommy is here...it's okay..." but his eyes continued to roll back in his head and his poor body was shaking violently. Brayden was having a febrile seizure, a seizure caused by a sudden spike in temperature and we were instructed to lay him on the floor and turn him on his side in case he needed to vomit. All I could say was "please God, please don't take my child!" As we watched his poor body shake, we were petrified. Finally the seizure stopped and he began screaming, a terrifying scream that made me think he was scared. His body was boiling hot so we layed a luke-warm towel over him and began wiping down his body to help draw the temperature down. Our hearts were breaking... Soon after, we found ourselves headed to the hospital--me in the ambulance with Brayden and Chris right behind us in the car. Tests at the hospital confirmed it was in fact a febrile seizure and there would not be any permanent damage. Luckily, I already had an appt with the doctor for Monday morning due to his continual congestive cough. While the fever came down on Sunday, it was still hovering around 101 when he went to bed that night. I put him in a t shirt and diaper, as told, but set my alarm to check on him every 3 hours. Monday morning's doctor appt revealed that Brayden had "acute sinusitis, acute pharyngitis, and strep." Poor baby! So we headed home, picking up another round of amoxicilin filled at the pharmacy and praying for a swift recovery.
We are grateful he is still here...grateful for doctors and anti-biotics, grateful for his sibling's life that continues to make me nauseas, and grateful for a family who helped so much in preparing the big meal that this Thanksgiving was relaxed and stress-free. What are you thankful for?
1 comment:
i miss you guys so much. we had such a good time while we were there. i can't believe, though i have no choice but to, how big Brayden is!
Post a Comment