S-C-A-R-Y-!-!-!

Whew! I have officially survived my first high fever convulsion as a mother. (In medical lingo they are referred to as Febrile Seizures.) My youngest sister had one when I was about twelve but that's a story for another day.

It all began with my two snotty nose, coughing kids enjoying their evening bath. I had gone to the sink to fetch toothbrushes when I noticed Addison face first in the water. Sometimes he lays on his tummy, but he almost never puts his face in. "Are you swimming Addison?" I asked. No response. I went back to the tub calling his name, only to find him wildly convulsing.

A million thoughts run through your head at a moment like that. A few of mine were, "Never leave your child alone in the bath, even for a minute;" "A child can drown in an inch of water;" "I am a lifeguard and my own son is going to drown in the bath." Not very positive or helpful.

Thankfully, sometimes your body acts independently of your brain. I flipped him over, held his head and called repeatedly for my husband to come quick. Addison's eyes were rolled back in his head, he wasn't breathing and had turned blue. I figured he might have water in his lungs so I began rescue breathing. Not the pretty form that you learn in CPR/First Aid class, just me leaning over the tub blowing air in his mouth so water would come out. I might have mumbled a few panicked "What am I supposed to do's?" as well. Keith came to rescue Charlotte and I ordered him to call 911. By the time he had Charlotte in a towel and had brought an extra one for Addison, Addison had come out of it.

He coughed, vomited up some water and then fell forward, limp in my arms. He was completely out of it but at least he was breathing. I remembered the high fever convulsion my sister had had, a condition which runs pretty heavily in my family history, but I didn't recall the passing out after it was over. Freaked that it might be something crazy, I had Keith help me lift Addison's dead weight out of the tub, determined to go to the ER once he was dressed. In the meantime Keith had called his mom, the nurse, who agreed that a trip to the ER was a good idea.

We couldn't get Addison to stay awake, but were afraid to let him sleep. I then called my mom, the expert on high fever convulsions, and she reassured me that it was fine to let him sleep. His body was just worn out from being so tense. She told me to give him Tylenol, put a cool cloth on his head and get the fever down as fast as possible. If the fever lasted until morning, then I could worry about seeing a doctor. All good news, only...we didn't have any Tylenol in the house! What kind of prepared mother doesn't keep any pain killer/fever reducer on hand?!?! Not infant Tylenol, not Children's liquid or chewable tablets, not even Adult pills! (Are my kids going to survive to adulthood? Sometimes I wonder.) So off to the store Keith went. Addison was sleeping restlessly so I managed to get Charlotte nursed and off to bed.

When Keith returned, we gave Addison his dose of Tylenol, got him into his PJs and told a few stories. By now he was conscious enough to know something was going on and was kind of freaked out. So I held him on my lap and we watched old family movies until he fell asleep. It was a restless but uneventful night after that. I woke up every few hours to check on Addison, just to make sure he didn't have another seizure without my knowing it, and to force another dose of Tylenol into him. By morning his temperature was still 104+ so we went in to see the doctor.

Wonderful woman that she is, the doctor assured me that I had done everything perfectly. There would have been no use in calling the Paramedics or going to ER, as there is nothing anyone can do to treat or prevent a high fever convulsion. You just have to wait them out. Apparently there are two types and Addison experienced the milder version. The complex version can last for up to 15 minutes! What are you supposed to do if your child isn't breathing for 15 minutes?!?! He will be dead, even with rescue breathing! The good ol' doc never really answered that question, saying I didn't need to worry about it. Kids either have simple or complex seizures, not a combination of both; there is no chance of Addison ever having a complex seizure now that he has had a simple one. Let's hope she is right! The doctor also informed me that these Febrile Seizures usually occur right at the beginning of an illness and then do not repeat themselves throughout the rest of the illness. So it was pointless for me to wake up all night and check on him. Better safe than sorry I say!

Anyhow, it turns out Addison has a raging ear infection, which most likely caused the fever. Now that he is on antibiotics, we should see marked improvement soon. I hope so...that was definitely enough excitement for me. At least the first one is over though and now I'll know what to do in the future. Because I am planning to experience more of these. Lots more.

And if you have any Peterson genes in you, BEWARE! You or your child could be next!