Perspective is sometimes a good thing. In many ways, I think I've been given a gift of perspective. I get to see things and experience things on a level that few others do. Other times, it makes me want to take my pink purse and whack people over the head before running off in my cute heels.
I was standing in line at Target recently and heard a girl say, "Oh my gosh. I had the worst day ever. I overslept and then it was raining." I'm sure to this adorably vapid teenager, that was probably worst case scenario. To give a little context, she was wearing a mini skirt and furry boots together... so just consider the source. But let me just tell you... that my worst day ever occurred this week... and it had nothing to do with oversleeping or rain.
My kids got afflicted with the plague referred to as hand, foot, and mouth disease this past week. Poor Savannah got it first, and I assumed she was bluffing. Before you all shake your heads and cluck your tongues about how I never believe her, let me just assure you that for every time she tells the truth, there are 100 exaggerations. She takes after her father, I tell you. She is absolutely dying if she gets a headache, or if it is hot, or if she cant find the shoes she wanted to wear, or if she gets a bug bite. So pardon me if I don't believe her every time she assures me that this time she really IS sick. But within a few hours of her claiming that she did NOT feel good, she had a very high temperature and blisters in her throat.
Obviously, Brooklyn got it next, because I would not be granted the mercy of only one child getting the plague. And watch out, because it is probably coming to a church nursery or elementary school near you soon.
So, after sleeping approximately 30 seconds for 2 days, the second child started with the high fevers. God bless my mother, who came to my rescue when I wasn't sure if I should just join the kids in the screaming or put them out of their misery. Kidding, kidding. Mostly.
Thankfully, they only were both sick for 24 hours, but what a long day it was. And then the night was even longer. If one wasn't screaming, the other one was. And the hubby was working night shift. Sweet mercy, I really am not sure how I survived it.
Savannah got well, but Brooklyn steadily grew worse. She refused to eat, drank very little, and her fevers didn't budge with ibuprofen, tylenol, ice chips, or a lukewarm bath. At one point her temperature went to 105.2, after motrin. Her pulse was high, and her breathing was rapid. It wasn't looking good. I debated taking her to the ER, but figured they couldn't do much else, and I really wanted to avoid the hospital. I kept in close touch with our pediatrician and Brooklyn's fever started to come down slowly. I thought we were on the mend, but then it suddenly spiked back up. She started to experience difficulty opening her eyes, and we decided it was time to head to the ER. I strapped her into the car seat and started to make the journey.
Part of the way there, Brooklyn lost head control and the ability to respond. I pulled over and called 911, and the rescue squad came to get her. Her temperature, heart rate, and breathing rate were all high, and she was quickly losing control of her muscles. After four minutes of being unresponsive, they loaded her onto a stretcher and sped off to the hospital at emergency speed.
I've always been a little carsick, and being in the back of an ambulance, moving very rapidly while answering questions, making phone calls, and trying to get your child to respond can really do a girl in. All of that pregnancy sickness I lived through came in handy as I willed myself not to puke. An IV was started, heart monitor hooked up, blood was drawn (and redrawn later... it was so hot when drawn out the tests read weird), the neurologist was called. Lots of prayers were prayed. As Brooklyn received medicines and fluids, her fever, heart rate, and breathing rate slowly began to come down to a normal range. Her muscle function is yet to return to normal... but right now we are just thankful she is here. For a little while, we weren't even sure that was going to happen... and that was the worst day ever.
We are headed up to Cincinnati in a week to meet with the Epilepsy Surgical Team. They've had some great success stories from their procedures. We are nervous but excited to hear about what they can do for our girl. We appreciate your continued prayers and support as we await what the future holds.
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