I think my heart stopped when I heard those words. I immediately lost it and started crying hysterically while I stuffed Drew's diaper bag with clothes, blankets, and his comfort item- a stuffed polar bear. Is he ok? How bad was it? Will he have to stay overnight at the hospital? What is my baby going to look like when I see him? All of these thoughts and a million more raced through my mind. But most of all, I felt guilty... that I wasn't there for him when he needed me the most.
I quickly made my way to the ER at St. John Macomb (the closest hospital to Drew's daycare). Bill was already there and his mom followed me. The two daycare directors were there too, waiting until I got there to leave.
As soon as I saw Andrew sitting on the bed in his little blue hospital gown, my heart gave way and I started crying all over again. Andrew smiled the biggest smile ever when he saw me and deep down, I knew it was all going to be ok. The ER doctor told me to keep it together and that Drew would be ok. He was hooked up to a blood pressure and heart rate monitor, and his numbers looked good. The ER nurse explained that we needed to stay for another hour, just to be sure he didn't have another seizure. As soon as I came in the room, Drew wanted his mama. He crawled into my lap, cuddled for a little bit, and then fell asleep.
Bill told me that the daycare directors explained what had happened. It was like any other normal day. Drew was playing with a school bus, rolling it across the floor, when his daycare teacher noticed him fall over and starting to convulse. She quickly called the director, while the other teacher rolled Drew to his side. The seizure lasted for about 2 minutes. The ambulance was there within minutes and he was rushed to the hospital. Apparently, he had a sudden high fever of 102, and his body was trying to fight it off. The fever was the result of a mild ear infection.
In hindsight, I think there is a lot to be said about "mother's intution".That morning, Drew just didn't seem like himself when I was getting him ready for daycare. He was really cuddly and lovey, which is how he acts when he's not feeling good. His cheeks were pink, so I took his temperaure, which was normal (98.4). I just chalked it up to the fact that it had been 4 days since he had been to daycare, we had a great weekend, and his cheeks were pink from too much sun the previous day. When I asked him if he wanted to go to daycare, he shook his head "no"... which he never does. Looking back, I wonder if those were signs that I should have kept him home.
Drew is doing much better now and is pretty much his happy, normal self (thank God!!!). I have to say, in retrospect, I am almost glad this incident happened at daycare. They are trained to respond quickly, and honestly I don't know if I could handle the mental image of seeing my child have a seizure. I'm just glad that he's ok. This whole thing has proven to Bill and I to not take any moments for granted. I think Drew has been hugged, kissed, cuddled, and squeezed so much more than he is used to in the last week... and it's not going to stop anytime soon! :)
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| My brave boy |
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| Happy that Mommy and Daddy are with him |
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| Tired baby |
