Scariest Day of My life!

Brandon had a seizure during the early morning hours of August 8, 2010. I have never seen anything like it in my life and I was scared to death. Here is an account of what happened:

7:00 p.m. and 8-7-10: Photo shoot at Utah Lake. Brandon is fine, a little whiny and a little warm, but otherwise normal. A new tooth coming in and I thought it was bothering him.

8:30 p.m.: We get home and begin dinner. Brandon is even more hot now and I take off his clothes to help cool him off and serve him dinner. He refuses to eat even though he hadn't eaten much the entire day. I try to give him juice, but he is not having it. I put him down for a quick nap because he seems tired, so I can clean up dinner and get the other kids in bed.

10:00 p.m.: I get him out of bed to get him ready. He is so hot it is burning my hands to touch him. I take his temp and it is 104 F degrees and climbing. I immediately give him Tylenol. I put him in a luke warm bath and he screams. He won't sit down in the tub and screams at the top of his lungs when I lay him down in the water. He is shivering. I take him out and put him to bed cooler than before.

1:30 a.m. 8-8-10: Brandon wakes up crying (he NEVER wakes up in the middle of the night). I check him and he is burning up again, but I can't give him another dose of meds until 2:30 a.m. I tried to give him juice, but he refuses. He begins to fall back asleep so I went back to my bed to sleep again. I prayed for guidance as to what to do.

3:00 a.m.: Something woke me, I don't know what. I heard noises coming from Brandon's room, strange noises. I go to check him and he is breathing funny. I touch him with no response. I picked him up and he was like a rag doll. His eyes were rolled back, he was limp and unresponsive, and shaking. He was breathing shallow and quick and making a hiccup sound. I run to Jorge. "Jorge! Something is wrong!" "What, what?" "Something is wrong with Brandon!" "Call 911, call 911!!" I call for help. I begin to hyperventilate. Brandon starts to come to and begins to scream. Operator says help is on the way. Ambulance takes FOREVER! At least 15 minutes go by.

3:20 a.m.: Paramedics arrive. Brandon is crying. They assess him and say his vitals are normal. I scream inside my head that he is not normal. They take his temp, it is 103.4. They say something is definitely wrong, like his ears, throat, or tummy. They want to know if they should drive him to the ER or if we want to do it. I look to my husband for answers. Jorge says we will take him. They say, give him Tylenol before you leave. I give him Tylenol.

3:30 a.m.: We are on our way to the Emergency Room at Utah Valley Hospital - 15 minutes away. Brandon is so tired....but hurting. Jorge puts a cool cloth on Brandon's head.

3:40 a.m.: We arrive at the ER. They take FOREVER! Brandon is crying. He begins to fall asleep.

4:30 a.m: They call us back to triage. His vitals look ok. His temp is 101.8, Tylenol is kicking in. She says they will call us back when a room is available. They take FOREVER!

4:45 a.m.: Jorge and his father give Brandon a blessing.

5:40 a.m.: Brandon finally falls asleep and my arms are dead. They call us back...a room is ready. Doc comes in pretty quick. Asks what happened. Brandon had a Febrile seizure. That's not too bad, he says. It's pretty common in babies. Some children are more prone to them than others and now that he is had one he will be even more prone to get one in the future. He checks the baby over. He has a redness in his throat and some congestion in his lungs. Doc orders a strep test and a chest x-ray. Then we wait.....it takes FOREVER!

7:00 a.m.: Doc says strep test came back negative, suggests that x-ray will as well.

7:15 a.m.: They take a chest x-ray. Brandon hates this and screams.

7:20 a.m.: We now wait for results and it takes FOREVER!

8:00 a.m.: Doc comes back and says there is not much on the x-ray and he seems fine but waits for comments from the radiologist. Says he will be back in 5 minutes.

8:10 a.m.: Doc says radiologist says Brandon has bronchiolitis and the beginnings of pneumonia in his lower left lung. "What?!" I think it's crazy. Brandon didn't have a cough, wheezing, or any other symptoms other than a slight runny nose and a fever. Doc gives an antibiotic prescription and a steroid to get rid of the inflammation in Brandon's throat so he will be able to eat and drink.

8:20 a.m.: We finally leave the ER.

It was such a scary and tough night for all of us. I worry about permanent damage but the doc assured me that there would not be any. The doc said to be sure to control the fever and alternate every three hours between Tylenol and Motrin. The next night Brandon spiked a high fever again because silly me thought he was better. He didn't have a fever since we were in the ER. I caught it in time and quickly put a cool cloth on his head and gave him meds. He cooled down and was able to sleep again. I had never been so scared in my life than to see my child lifeless and shaking. I will never forget how his face looked at that moment. I thought I had lost him for a few brief seconds. My life was changing and I was scared.

I am so thankful to the Lord for His healing power. I am thankful for a husband who can use that power to heal our children. I am thankful for Doctors and their power to heal. I am thankful for the faith I have to know that healings are possible. Most of all I am grateful for a beautiful baby boy who came into our lives and brings us happiness every day. I am grateful I get to be his mother. I hope he can forgive me for letting him get so sick, but I hope he knows how much I love him.

We are blessed.....