At about 2:40 today I received a phone call from Graci's school telling me that Graci was having a seizure and to come immediately. I was, of course, terrified. With all of Graci's health problems, she has never had a seizure in our care. (Her health report from China said that she possibly had a seizure when she was 5 or 6.) Sophi's friend, Jordan, was over to play, so I threw them both in the van, sped to the Jordan's home, and basically threw the two girls at Jordan's mom. (Thank you, Sharlie! I am so glad that I knew I could do that without so much as asking if it was ok.) When I arrived at the school a few minutes later, there were already firetrucks and an ambulance outside. I jumped out of the van and went running for the doors. School had just let out, and apparently word spreads fast because students were yelling at me, "She's in the gym!"
When I arrived, she was lying on the floor surrounded by teachers and paramedics. She was talking a little bit and responsive, which was so relieving. I sat next to her and comforted her and answered questions for the paramedics. Jeremy came a few minutes later, and soon after he arrived, she had another seizure.
For those of you who have ever had to watch your child have a seizure, I am so, so sorry. It was awful and frankly, the most terrifying thing I've experienced. She wasn't breathing well during the seizure and the paramedics had so give her some medication through her nose to help her. Hearing her finally gasp and take a deep breath was the most beautiful sound, but she continued to cough and struggle to breathe easily after that. As soon as she stopped seizing, they strapped her to a stretcher and hurried her out to the ambulance. They allowed Jeremy 15 seconds to give her a blessing inside the ambulance before taking off. I was allowed to ride in front and watch her through a camera while Jeremy drove. It was the longest 40 minute drive I've ever been on! I won't share all the thoughts that went through my mind, but I will say that there is nothing like this to help you put life and challenges in perspective and to help you realize how you always want to be treating your children.
Because I am quite wiped out at this point, I will skip to what you really want to hear: Graci is home. They don't know what caused the seizures. She had an EKG and it was normal (for her.) There is no sign of infection or a stroke. Cardiologists are doubting that it is related to her heart. So... the next step is to get some neurological testing done. Tomorrow we will be getting an appointment for an EEG which will hopefully give us some more information. For now, we were given the instructions that if she has another seizure to call 911, but to otherwise let her rest and wait and see what neurology says. So there you go.
Thank you to the wonderful friends who helped with kids and dinner-- we are so thankful. I loved knowing that I didn't need to worry about what was going on at home. I'm so grateful to have so many angels in my life.
I'm sure I don't need to ask-- but would you please keep Graci in your prayers this week?
Thanks,
Christianne
