ER
Well, I'm feeling pretty much like a horrible mother. Or maybe it's just because we've had good luck all these years, so this just hasn't had a chance to happen yet.
Nadia was complaining Thursday evening of not feeling well, and by midnight was running a fever. We brought her up to our bed, tried to make her comfortable and gave her a dose of children's ibuprofen. Our family tries not to use meds, especially when a fever is trying to do its work, but nighttime is a different story, if only to let the child get some sleep and keep the fever down some. For some reason (too small a dose?), the ibuprofen didn't touch the fever and by morning she was still raging hot, acting lethargic and sleeping lots and lots. She was feeling so terrible she had to be carried to the bathroom.
Keith decided to go to work, as I was at home all day, and Nadia seemed to be resting quietly on the couch most of the morning...that is until she started making choking sounds. I checked on her and found she was having a febrile seizure. Talk about scary. Blue lips, no breathing, eyes rolled back, stiff arms and legs. I never want to have to go through that again. When the seizure ended (which seemed like forever, but probably lasted only 30-45 seconds), I called the Dr. who told us to head to ER.
I felt so bad for her. Since there were no other signs of illness (ear infection, UTI, cough, etc.), they recommended a spinal tap. It was a hard decision to make. 9 times out 10, you know it's viral, but what if it's not? And of course, since she had to be sedated, they had to administer an IV. It took three nurses plus Keith and me to hold her still. All the while she screamed and screamed because she was so scared and uncomfortable. Thank the Lord everything came back clear and we were able to get her fever down a bit.
It was a long night last night and she's been sleeping most of this morning, after throwing up several times, so I'm taking a breather. Hopefully this will run its course quickly and not be passed on to the other girls.