Scary day

Yesterday, Lala was eating lunch when suddenly it seemed like she fell asleep with her eyes open. I thought, well, she is tired from a busy morning and it is past her usual nap time. I changed her diaper and put her down in the crib and noted she was very calm, eyes wide and straight ahead. I picked her up when I notice she wasn't responding to me as usual. Her arms and legs started shaking and she looked pale and ashy. I had a cold, chilling feeling go thru me as I picked her up and started patting her and calling her name. I yelled for my other daughter to get the phone. Then she gagged and vomited up some mucous. She cried, looked like herself again and then snuggled into me. Shaking, I held her and my mom brain, barely functioning. My doctor brain turned on and I thought about that it sure did look like a seizure. Her breathing slowed to normal and she fell asleep.

My dh came home a few moments later and noted she was burning up. She took some water and when she was alert I gave her some tylenol. At that point, I was trying to figure out if she had choked or had had a seizure, one associated with fever. Should I take her to the ER or just watch how she does. I held her and was reassured by her calm, normal breathing. She woke up about 30 min. later and was normal acting, if a bit grumpy and needing to be held. Her fever was down and she drank milk hungrily.

I have treated and counseled many patients on the condition of febrile seizure and have seen it, but it is certainly different when it is my own child. I watched her like a hawk since and she had no temperature more than 99 and then all normal today since afternoon. I examined her ears and throat and lungs and all looked ok. I'll seen how she is in the morning and call the pediatrician if anything is awry.