My Daughters Trauma

Undecided

Hi All,

Yesterday evening my daughter had the worst fright of her life. She was taking a nap with Emily, her 15 mo. old daughter, she woke up when Emily began shaking. She couldn't breathe, was turning blue and her eyes were rolled back. She was unconscious. She immediately picked her up and ran to her 18 yr old son and handed her to him(She doesn't remember doing this)and said help me. He didn't know what to do, so he called 911. When he looked up she was going up the drive way, heading for the hospital. She lives about 10 minutes from the hospital at normal driving speeds. She made it in 3 minutes. She was going 95 and 100 mile per hour, with Emily in one arm and driving with the other. When she got to the emergency entrance there were two cops behind her. Her other 16 yr old daughter was with her and so scared she was throwing up. My daughter ran to the entrance yelling get me a doctor, one met her and took Emily. After a few minutes they told Lisa they were doing a scan to see if there was brain damage, Lisa passed out.

It wasn't as bad as it seemed for Emily, she had a febrile seizure, caused by a sudden rise in temp. It happens to about 1 in 25 children. There was no brain damage and she is doing fine now, but my daughter will never be the same. She hasn't slept since and won't leave Emily for a minute. I sure hope she can get over the shock, she cries just talking about how she felt. It scared me too when her son called from the hospital, but he said she was OK then. The Doc said it could happen at anytime again but in the vast majority of the cases it's harmless, but you can't calm Lisa with those words. She is traumatized.

Ken P.

MrMoe

Ken -- Hugs to you and your family! I cannot even begin to imagine having to go through such an event!

Kisses,

Moe

Angharad

((((Ken & Family)))) how awful - I hope that Emily is ok and your daughter can eventually get over the shock.

SYN

(((((Ken P + Daughter + Emily))))))

Scully

Seizures are very frightening, even when you're a health care professional.

Let your daughter talk about it as much as she needs to. It will help her to "get it out of her system".

Also, remind her of how - even in the panicked state she was in - she did exactly what needed to be done to help her daughter. That kind of encouragement can go a long way in helping someone recover from a traumatic event like this. She really proved that she could go above and beyond in this situation.

Remember the saying: "Diamonds are ordinary lumps of coal that have been under intense pressure."

I would be happy to look up some information on febrile seizures that you can pass along to your daughter. You can also access information on http://www.medscape.com/

Love, Scully

Jewel

If it's any comfort to your daughter, I had a febrile seizure when I was about 3. I've never had anything like that since. (Some would question whether there was brain damage...just kidding!)

RunningMan

My daughter had one when she was a baby. My wife called 911 and the ambulance and fire department were there in less than two minutes.

She started breathing again on her own and today is a perfectly normal 12 year old.

Although it is frightening, it is not all that uncommon.