Jim and I were lucky enough to get away for a couples weekend trip to Whistler this past weekend and while we did have a great time, the trip was definitely dampened on Sunday night, as mentioned in my Whistler post yesterday.
Throughout the weekend I had been in contact with my mom and she mentioned on Sunday morning that Jordie had had a terrible night on Saturday. He hadn't slept well and had been running a fever and was really restless. She ended up sleeping with him in his bed so that they could each sleep even just a little bit. When I talked to him on Sunday I had almost no voice so didn't chat for long but he seemed okay to me.
That evening we were in the Village watching the Fire and Ice show and I got some texts from my mom saying that Jordie had been quite lethargic that day and had napped from 11:30-1:30 but had fallen asleep at the dinner table (turns out after thinking about it later they think he actually fainted at the table because he fell straight forward onto his forehead and if he does fall asleep it's not ever like that!). Falling asleep at dinner was very strange to me as that's not normal for him at all...especially if he's had a nap. She said she had left Sunday dinner and taken him back upstairs to try to put him to bed. She said he wouldn't go so they sat down to snuggle and watch some Paw Patrol. James and Papa stayed downstairs to finish dinner and then came upstairs too.
About 10 minutes later Mom said they were sitting in her chair and she looked down to see Jordie having a seizure in her arms. As you can imagine it breaks my heart to think of my little boy having a seizure but also to think of my poor Mama having to be the one holding him when it happened. I am thankful that he wasn't alone somewhere or with only James around as you can imagine how traumatizing that could have been for him. As a mother I wish I had been there to comfort him but from what I hear they can look like when it's happening, I am also really relieved to have not seen it. A doctor yesterday told me that I owe my parents big time because there is nothing quite as sad and scary as seeing a child having a seizure.
Mom has told me that once the seizure started she just held him close and talked to him while Dad dialed 911. It took the ambulance 8.5 minutes to get to the house (which is a great response time considering the first car was out on another call). As the paramedics were arriving and Dad was putting Diesel in the bedroom he calmly told James that Jordie was sick and needed to go in the ambulance. I absolutely applaud their calmness because James was not in the least bit worried about what was happening and I doubt every day whether I would have been able to stay that calm in the face of that situation. Apparently all James wanted to do was ask the paramedics what all the stuff in the bag was. Thankfully he was so engrossed in Paw Patrol that he hadn't actually seen the seizure happening. When we talked to him that night all he told me was that he had wanted to go with Jordie in the ambulance to help him feel brave and to make sure that he was okay. Man, that kid has a total heart of gold and there is no one he loves more than his little brother.
By some absolute fluke of nature (or maybe mother's ESP) I happened to call my parents house to check in literally as my mom was walking down the stairs to the ambulance. My dad had asked the paramedic to carry Jordie out as he didn't want mom carrying him down the stairs. I could hear strange voices and as soon as my dad heard my voice I could tell he was emotional. He told me after that when he heard the phone ring and saw my number he asked mom and she said it was up to him whether he answered or not. It took him till the last ring to answer and when I asked if everything was okay, I could hear his voice catch and then I heard the words that all mother's dread (especially when they are 7 hours and 2 ferries away from their babies) "no, honey, we're not alright....I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we have to take Jordie to the hospital, he's had a seizure" followed by "he's okay, but I have to go and follow your mom to the hospital." He told me that James was okay and that he was going downstairs to ask Mowat to sit with him and that they would call me as soon as they had seen the doctor. I hung up and instantly started to tear up. Theresa walked out of the gift shop and I told her and said that I needed to tell Jim. Jim and the others were waiting to get food at a hot dog stand about 5 minutes away. I called his cell phone and they all rushed right over to where we were standing.
I won't lie, when I saw Jimmy all I could think about were our precious boys at home and how sad I was that I wasn't there. We instantly started making plans to head home earlier and started walking towards the truck. I can honestly say that in that moment all I cared about what getting back to the condo and calling James. I was fine for a few minutes and then all of a sudden I just stopped walking and leaned into Jim and burst into tears. I knew there was absolutely nothing I could do for Jordie in that moment and I knew that he was in the best possible place with the best possible people, but James was another story. At the time I was terrified that he was sitting there scared and worried. I hadn't had a chance to ask Dad if James had seen the seizure and was very worried that if he had that he would be very upset by it.
On our way to the truck I missed a FaceTime call from my mom's cell phone. Standing there in the rain in a parking lot Jim and I stood under a street lamp and called back and were more relieved than ever in our lives when our little Jordie boy's face popped onto the screen. His eyes were closed and he was clearly very drowsy, but he was alive and I could talk to him and could see for myself that he was okay. He woke up enough to say hi Mommy and Daddy and then he was out again. I literally felt my breath catching just being able to see him. Thank god for modern technology that we were afforded this luxury.
Mom said that the doctor took his temperature and it was around 104. Mom had been giving him Tylenol throughout the day but it hadn't been long enough to give him more and unfortunately she didn't have the thermometer to check his temp. She said she didn't think he felt that warm and I know she feels guilty which she shouldn't at all and I feel guilty that I forgot to leave the thermometer with her (and the boys care cards too!). It's just one of those things that happen sometimes and there is no one to blame at all. The doctor said that these kinds of febrile seizures are very common in young children with high fevers and that after the temp was under control that they could be on their way home with him but would need to wake him every 2 hours through the night to ensure the temp stayed away.
We got back to the condo and immediately called James and were relieved again to hear that he was very calm and cool about what had happened and we realized that he really had no idea of what had happened to Jordie. He told us about the ambulance and paramedics and their bag of stuff and how he wanted to go with them so he could help Jordie be brave, but then in the next breath he told us about dinner and the huge piece of chocolate cake he ate. Then he asked Sean about the score of the Kings game from that day. He really had no idea of what Nana and Papa had gone through and again I couldn't be more grateful to my parents for keeping their calm in a situation where I know a lot of people (myself included) probably would have lost it!
Mom and Dad were on their way home from the hospital just over 2 hours after going there and when we talked to them again when they got home I could see Jordie snuggled up tight in Papa's arms and knew that he was truly alright. Mom had him sleep in her bed that night with her although I'm pretty sure she didn't sleep much at all.
Here is the picture Mom sent me at 6:30 the next morning. He was awake and had no fever and was back to his chipper little self. She told us not to rush home.
We decided as a group to head home on an earlier ferry on Monday, but because my stomach issues had popped up on Sunday afternoon I really didn't want to head home super early in the morning so was relieved when we all wanted to catch the 1:20 ferry out of Vancouver instead of our original plan of the 3:20. It got us home in time for dinner and to get our boys to bed at home. They were originally going to stay at N&P's that night too but when we got home all I wanted was to hug them and keep them close to me! I swear I had never felt like a trip from the city took as long as that one did! It seemed like it would be forever before I would hug them again.
We got home that night and again Jordie had a fever of 102 when we went to go to bed so he slept between me and Jim and we watched him closely. We've been home for 3 nights now and each of those nights he's had a fever of around 99-101 throughout the day and either 101 or 102 at nighttime. Last night was his first night in his own bed and yet I still didn't sleep well. Throughout the day he seems okay but definitely has a runny nose and a slight cough.
We went to the doctor yesterday and he is concerned about the ongoing fevers. He had a chest x-ray and an absolutely terrible blood draw done at the hospital. Truly, I have never heard my child scream like that. He kept yelling "that hurts, you're hurting me, I scared, it's scary"...absolutely broke my heart to watch him in that kind of pain and discomfort. I hope that's something I don't have to go through again anytime soon! But I will also say how proud he was to pee in a cup yesterday afternoon! :) Within an hour he was happily eating his Timbits and snuggled up with me watching Paw Patrol.
Anyways, for now we are just keeping a close eye on him. I've been home all week with him because not only has he been sick, but I've been sick since Saturday too! We go back to see the doctor tomorrow and see if anything showed up on the tests we did yesterday. For now, he is a happy little guy and I am so very grateful that he is okay and that it was just one of those childhood things that happen.
If anything, it shows everyone, that everything can literally change in an instant and to always be thankful for what you have in your life. Our friends were wonderful that night when it happened and were kind and thoughtful to my feelings and my constant talking about it. I was the most scared I've ever been that's for sure and if I couldn't be at home with my boys and my parents there was no one else I'd rather be with in that moment.
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