The first week in March is one I want to forget. Or want to never forget, depending on when you ask. On the first I was very busy getting everything organized for a baby shower that I was throwing on the third. I have never thrown a shower before, and wanted everything to be perfect and cute, not to mention I love the family I was throwing it for, and wanted their arrival of twins to be celebrated. I went to the grocery store for last minute food items and went home to work on labels for the food. Everything was Dr. Seuss themed, and I was having a blast with the rhymes and cute games that we were going to play. That afternoon, Olivia got sick. I'm talking can't keep food down, totally out of commission sick. It was a horrible flu-like bug, and we weren't ready for it. As with any illness, I started running the washer machine constantly, tried to keep my kids apart as much as possible, and just hoped that O would be feeling better soon.
Saturday (the 2nd) morning came around, and I though she was doing better, but she was still on a strict BRAT diet, and feeling puny. We hung out, watched movies, and snuggled on the couch. That evening as we were putting the kids to bed, she threw up again, about five minutes before Carter threw up while I was nursing him. I have never had a baby throw up that much, and it was very hard to see him sick. Right about that point I started feeling sick, but assumed it was in my head. We just started pushing pedialyte and trying to get the kids to rest. About an hour later my illness started. I can't really describe how hard it hit, but it was like a train, and I did feel run over. It was all I could do to get out of bed when absolutely necessary. At this point the rest of the members of our family knew it was a matter of time, so we started preparing.
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| C really liked the popcorn popper :) |
Sunday morning, as Alex and Gary woke up sick, I knew I couldn't host this party at my house. I still felt good enough to make all the food and bring it somewhere else, so I started scrambling and calling around to get help. I was up early, making snacks and working out the last minute details. The mom-to-be found a new location for the shower, and I was feeling like it would all come together fine. Around 9:30 O woke up, and I could hear her struggling to come downstairs, but she wasn't crying, so I just figured she was still out of it from sleeping. She came down to the couch and started discussing breakfast plans with Mary and I, when suddenly she started convulsing. I practically threw Carter at Mary, got my phone, and dialed 911. She wasn't breathing, her whole body was convulsing, and my time basically stopped. I know now that I was partially in shock, but all I could do was talk to her, reassure her, and answer the dispatcher's questions. After about a minute she started breathing and the seizure seemed to be over. Her muscles were still contracting and relaxing strangely, and she wasn't responding to me, but she was breathing and at that point that was all I needed. When the EMTs got there they discovered that her blood sugar was very low, but her O2 sat seemed to be OK, and she responded to the toe prick, which was a good sign. O and I went to the ER in the ambulance, with Alex following in the car.
She continued to respond to being poked and prodded, and occasionally would cry and need reassuring, but she didn't talk or make eye contact until we had been in the ER for about an hour. The staff told me that this was normal for post-seizure toddlers, but it was very disconcerting to me, as I am used to her constant chatter and questions. I'm sure we made quite the sight coming into the ER. I was in pajamas, quite sick and totally worn out. Alex was running to the bathroom about every ten minutes, and laying on the ground the rest of the time. I tried to sit in a chair by the gurney, but didn't have the strength, and after passing out once, mostly rested my head on the bed. I had to be reassuring to Olivia, but only had exactly the strength I needed to help her endure her IV, many tests, and restrictions while she was there. I am very grateful to the ER staff, who were wonderful to us. They tried to help Alex and I be as comfortable as possible (Alex went home after about 3 hours and his mom came in his place), and were AMAZING with O. They brought her stuffed animals, took the time to explain everything, and were very professional. She did have another short seizure in the hospital, but never stopped breathing, and it was fairly short. Eventually they ruled out any bacterial issues or known viruses, and concluded that her seizure was caused by extremely low blood sugar, which was brought on by this virus. After eight hours we went home, and were instructed to keep an eye on Olivia, bring her to her primary care doctor the next day, and keep offering juice and pedialyte as drink choices.
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Needless to say, I didn't attend or even help with the baby shower. My wonderful friends came to my house, got all the food and decorations, and threw the shower without me. This was a HUGE help, as I was really stressed out about it. I know that I was in the right place, doing the right thing, but it was very hard for me to drop such a huge commitment to someone that I care about. I heard from many that the shower was a huge success, and I know that was due to the wonderful girls who were able to guess at my ideas and throw a wonderful shower for MariAnne and her two baby boys.
The medical saga continues in a later post, but we did recover from that bout of illness after about 5 days. It ran its course through our household, and just about everyone I know. Here's a shot of our first outing post-illness. We had Jamba Juice (not a smart choice I know, but I needed it), and went to the pet store. The kids love the fish!
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