Last night I experienced my scariest moment as a parent. After celebrating the Holiday season with a sick-free baby (this is a blessing in itself as Georgia has been sick for the past few months) we went away for a few days only to return home to a sick baby again. Throughout the past week she has steadily gotten worse with a cough, congestion, runny nose and fever. Last night around 11 pm Georgia woke up screaming, obviously feeling terrible. We tried to comfort her to no avail and finally decided that we would take her to bed with us. After a few minutes it became apparent that we had a much bigger problem on our hands. She began to tremble, then shake. Her colouring was off, her lips turning blue and her face a shallow grey colour. Then she started to babble incoherently. As Georgia worsened, Trevor and I in a mad panic rushed her to the car, grabbing whatever items we could on the way to keep her warm and comfortable.
We got into the car, Georgia and I in the back seat. As we were pulling out of the driveway I was frantically trying to get Georgie into her car seat while comforting her screaming, shivering body. The drive the hospital is somewhat of a blur, I remember telling Trev to go as fast as he safely could and to go through every light that we passed. As I looked at Georgia she continued to worsen and the trembling was now non-stop. As Trevor pulled into emerg, I quickly got Georgie out of her seat and rushed her into the triage area. Within 10 minutes of getting there we were quickly seen and ushered into emergency. By this time Georgia was getting better by the minute. We were informed that her fever had spiked to 104 and that she had likely had a febrile seizure. A febrile seizure is a seizure that is often brought on by a high fever. It can come in two forms simple and complex. The majority are simple and do not last long or have any particular lasting effects. The other are complex or prolonged seizures which last for anywhere from 10-20 minutes and carry a variety of associated risks. It is our belief that Georgia had a simple febrile seziure.
Over several hours poor Georgia had chest ex rays, a catheter and constant temperature checks. With each hour that passed we became more confident that the worst was behind us. Her seizure is something that is fairly common and often runs in families. There will be no long term effects, she is healthy and will be fine. A relief to say the least. At 5:30 am we finally left the hospital, with a prescription and plan to manage her fever in hand.
Throughout this experience I realized a lot about myself and Trevor as parents. I had a lot of time to think in the waiting room and analyze the past year and how we have all changed since welcoming Georgie into our lives. It was last night when I realized that our pre Georgie and post Georgie personalities have changed dramatically. This little 3 ft girl has changed our lives dramatically, so much so that I would consider myself an entirely different person now. A year ago the biggest part of us would have been our careers, our marriage and our aspirations. Now the biggest and best part of Trevor and I is being Mommy and Daddy. All of those other things are still important, but what makes our life meaningful, what makes us proud and fulfilled is simply being Georgias mommy and daddy. Last night was a wake-up call for us, and I am proud that in a very stressful situation we were able to be a very capable mommy and daddy.
We got into the car, Georgia and I in the back seat. As we were pulling out of the driveway I was frantically trying to get Georgie into her car seat while comforting her screaming, shivering body. The drive the hospital is somewhat of a blur, I remember telling Trev to go as fast as he safely could and to go through every light that we passed. As I looked at Georgia she continued to worsen and the trembling was now non-stop. As Trevor pulled into emerg, I quickly got Georgie out of her seat and rushed her into the triage area. Within 10 minutes of getting there we were quickly seen and ushered into emergency. By this time Georgia was getting better by the minute. We were informed that her fever had spiked to 104 and that she had likely had a febrile seizure. A febrile seizure is a seizure that is often brought on by a high fever. It can come in two forms simple and complex. The majority are simple and do not last long or have any particular lasting effects. The other are complex or prolonged seizures which last for anywhere from 10-20 minutes and carry a variety of associated risks. It is our belief that Georgia had a simple febrile seziure.
Over several hours poor Georgia had chest ex rays, a catheter and constant temperature checks. With each hour that passed we became more confident that the worst was behind us. Her seizure is something that is fairly common and often runs in families. There will be no long term effects, she is healthy and will be fine. A relief to say the least. At 5:30 am we finally left the hospital, with a prescription and plan to manage her fever in hand.
Throughout this experience I realized a lot about myself and Trevor as parents. I had a lot of time to think in the waiting room and analyze the past year and how we have all changed since welcoming Georgie into our lives. It was last night when I realized that our pre Georgie and post Georgie personalities have changed dramatically. This little 3 ft girl has changed our lives dramatically, so much so that I would consider myself an entirely different person now. A year ago the biggest part of us would have been our careers, our marriage and our aspirations. Now the biggest and best part of Trevor and I is being Mommy and Daddy. All of those other things are still important, but what makes our life meaningful, what makes us proud and fulfilled is simply being Georgias mommy and daddy. Last night was a wake-up call for us, and I am proud that in a very stressful situation we were able to be a very capable mommy and daddy.
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