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Thursday, June 22, 2017

So Scary!

It's been one week since it happened...

We called everyone down to the breakfast table for our usual family scripture study. And also like usual, Kaylee trailed in groggily to her seat. Before we could begin with prayer, this time Kaylee began to complain that she didn't feel well. I asked if she felt like throwing up and she nodded yes. Joseph encouraged her to run to the bathroom so she wouldn't make a mess at the table.

She stood up and then screamed before falling face-down down on the floor. I just thought she was being dramatic. Maybe she had fake fainted?  I fake fainted when I was her age. [My mom wouldn't let me take a bag of Cheerios to church, so I threw a big tantrum which ended abruptly with a very hard smack on my bottom. I fell to the floor pretending to faint... or pretending to be dead. As I lay there completely motionless, trying hard not to breathe for the effect, I could see through my squinted eyes, my mom's angry silhouette: She stood there with her hands on her hips scolding me to get up. I thought for sure my drama show would instill compassion in her, convincing her to finally give me the Cheerios and to never smack me that hard again. But it didn't.]

Anyway, I assumed for a brief moment that maybe Kaylee liked to put on little drama shows like I did as a kid. "Come on honey, it can't be that bad. Let's get to the bathroom."

When she wouldn't get up or answer, I knew something was wrong. I scooped her up off the floor. Her entire body was completely limp.  Her head rolled back as Joseph and I tried to set her up against the toilet. Her face had turn to ash. Now, I was scared!! Something wasn't right. After a minute she opened her eyes and shuttered.
I asked, "Are you okay? Kaylee, can you talk to me?"
She stared off into space with a glazed look and tried to speak but couldn't form any words, just garble.
Joseph and I looked at each other not knowing what to do. This had never happened before. She gained consciousness, enough to stabilize herself at the toilet. We expected her to vomit and then she'd feel better.

She didn't have a temperature. We thought maybe she just had some bad food the night before. But she wouldn't throw up. A minute or two passed with her seeming more alert. Joseph began to help her out of the bathroom when she went limp again, repeating the same glazed look and mumbled speech as we tried to revive her. This time, we called the paramedics.

When the EMT's arrived they found all her vitals normal and no sign of illness but advised us to still make an appointment with her doctor. An hour later, we were waiting in the doctor's office for her to get some blood tests, when it happened again. The nurse was startled and quickly began calling for back-up. We spent the next several days trying to rule out the causes of Kaylee's frightening behavior, making sure it wasn't anything life-threatening.

After all the tests, the doctors have concluded that what happened with Kaylee were very real seizures. They don't know for certain what triggered the seizures but said from studying her electroencephalogram they could see she is prone to them. They said she could have more in her life and they could get worse as she got older... or she could possibly never have them again. Only time will tell. At least overall she's not in any real threat. We just can't let her take baths or go swimming by herself anymore.

What a scare we had! And even though I'd prefer Kaylee didn't have this risk factor of seizures in her life, I'm very grateful the doctors don't see anything more serious.  I still want to get some further opinions. One good thing from everything this past week is that I got to spend a tons of one-on-one time with my little Kaylee . I'm so proud of her bravery and courage through it all.


I love my girl so much!

-Alicia

2 comments:

Ramona Gordy said...

Alicia
Wow, that was scary, did the Dr recommend any further treatment, medicines, etc. Did he talk about epilepsy? There is a great deal of info that is available concerning childhood seizures etc. Now you may have to be vigilant to notice warning signs of possible seizures, what seems to trigger them. Did the Dr recommend any diet changes, medical ID bracelet? Did he say if Kaylees seizures were "grand mal" type of seizures? I know you and your hubby, you got this. But gather info, keep a small journal for a while if she starts to have more seizures, have well stocked first aid kit with stuff specifically for Kaylee. Teach her too to notice her symptoms and triggers.
I am praying for you, don't despair. God is with you
Love you all
Ramona

Alicia Rawlins said...

The doctor said she had petit mal seizures. We definitely need to examine things further and do more research because I don't feel like she's out of the woods yet. Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement, and faith. Love you!!