Tuesday, December 1, 2009

My sweet little Abi

Oh wow, it has been a long time since I have posted anything! Sorry, so I have an update on Abi for all of you who don't know the whole story. I have some pictures, but they are too sad for me to post.

So mid October we took a trip to Las Vegas to go to the Utah vs. UNLV footbal game. While we were there Abi got sick and ended up having a seizure the night before we were coming home. She had a fever with this seizure but she was so non responsive after that it was really scary, so we called an ambulance. They came and told us to take off her pajamas, she was just too hot. Once we did that she started to cry and we were able to give her Tylenol. She slept with me the rest of the night, needless to say, but kept spiking a fever so I kept dosing her. We thought that was the end of it, and started our trip home. I kept checking on Abi to make sure she didn't have a fever, and she was fine. She fell asleep in the car and we were just outside of Mesquite. I turned back to check on Abi and saw that she was having another seizure! We hurried and pulled over, and at least after this one she was just angry, not so lethargic. We decided we better take her to the hospital so we drove on to St. George and took her to the ER. The Dr. there agreed that it was odd that she would have two febrile seizures so close together, so they ordered all sorts of tests. All of which came back normal. So they told us that she just had two febrile seizures which is pretty common in kids, and they usually outgrow this by the time they are 2-5 years old. So I thought, alright I can handle this if it happens again. It will probably be easier now that I have been through it before, right?

WRONG! So then mid November, a few weeks ago, I was getting the kids ready for church. Part of my Sunday morning routine is that after I shower, I put all three girls in the tub while I do my hair. The girls are usually really happy in the tub and play very well there, so this is why this works. So I was in the girls bathroom with them while they were in the tub. Abi went to stand up in the tub and when she did this put her face in the water for a second. She stood up and gasped, and was swolling some water. I was just about to turn to her and say,"Oh Abi did you swollow some water?" When I noticed she wasn't recovering from it. Just then she started to fall back onto her bottom. I reached for her and grabbed her out of the tub, she still was not breathing, or at least not very well. I turned her over and hit her back to try and get her to breathe and get rid of the water. Then I looked down at her and saw that she was having a seizure. It was probably the scariest moment of my life. I called 911 because I was so freaked out, but while I was on the phone with them Abi came out of the seizure. She was a little lethargic but not too bad. I told them I wouldn't need the ambulance, I would just take her into the ER, we live so close to Alta View Hospital. So I called Jamie, who was at church, and he came home. We took Abi to the ER. They started running basically all the same tests that they had in St. George. After her chest x-ray she was sleeping on my chest in her exam room and had another seizure. This one was the worst one she has had. I don't know if there were multiple seizures here or just one really long one. It lasted about 30 min. They had to order multiple anti-seizure medications from the pharmacy to pull her out of it. Meanwhile, the Dr. is having the crash cart brought into the room and telling me that we need to transfer Abi to Primary Children's by ambulance. The Dr. said that if she would stabalize she could go by sandy ambulance, if not then the pediatric flight team would have to take her by ambulance. I of course was a wreck. Abi did come out of the seizure and was just sleepy. I rode with Abi in the ambulance to Primary's we stayed there until monday night. They ran more tests, all of which came back normal. Good news, right? Then they told us that most kids who have seizures have normal results with these tests. So I guess they were just making sure nothing more serious was going on. So in the end, Abi may have another seizure, she may have many more, or she might not have any! The Neurologist told us we could start her on daily anti-seizure medication now if we wanted. These meds have a lot of side effects and once you start them you have to wait 2 years before you can start to taper off of them. Jamie and I did not feel that it was time for this yet. I am feeling very peaceful and calm about things, I am hoping that there will be no more seizures to come. It was been a little over 2 weeks and no seizures. One of the hardest things throughout all of this was not having my little Abi with me. She was so loopy from the sedation and medication she had received. It was not until Tuesday night that she was back to her normal self. That was practically three days of not having her with me. I am thankful everyday that I can see her and her crazy personality. Any of you who know Abi know that she is VERY BUSY! She is into everything. She never stops moving. Sometimes this can feel like a burden, but since we have been home from the hospital I am thankful for every moment I get to chase her around! Thank you so much to all of you for your love and support. When something like this happens in your life it is so nice to feel how much love there is for you and your family out there! Sorry it has taken me so long to post about this, it is kind of hard to do even now. But just know that we are all good and love you all very much!