Tuesday, March 25, 2008

A Rachel-Sized Scare

Yet another instance of calling 9-1-1 but thankfully this time we didn't have to take an ambulance ride. We all know how cranky Rachel can be and how much she cries and this was not one of her better days but by this afternoon she was fine and not so cranky. I was making dinner and Kirk was home when Rachel fell and started crying. This is completely normal. Kirk says we should note the time between babies falling down and crying. We re-set that timer every two minutes. I swear it's constant.

So, I don't think much of it and go in to check on her. There she is doing her normal thing of holding her breath and crying. Every kid does this - totally normal. But then she stops breathing. She never cried. She doesn't let out the breath. I panic and pick her up, nothing, no change. She's now turning blue and stiff as a board. I am FREAKING out. I thought she was chocking. On what I have no idea but the child wasn't breathing and wasn't responsive. I scream for Kirk who comes rushing in and grabs her. She becomes limp and I swear lost consciousness - she was out of it. Not herself. And she's not breathing. I'm thinking of how to do CPR on a kid and how to call 9-1-1 at the same time. Today was the first day I've ever called them because something was wrong (not to report another accident, etc.) The response was very quick and two paramedics were in my living room within like five minuts. Of course, the moment the dispatcher answered the phone Rachel was awake and acting normal and crying. It was nothing short of a huge scare in a small amount of time.

The paramedics didn't feel she needed immediate attention and thankfully a hospital trip wasn't necessary but they feel that she either had a seizure or just was so upset that she didn't breathe and then passed out. I have no idea which. I do plan to call the doctor because I do have a history of seizures in my family but hopefully nothing is wrong and it won't happen again. I'll let you know...

8 comments:

Cherie said...

oh. my. goodness.

how scary. i dont't know what i would've done.

Anonymous said...

Very scary, but it can be normal in kids believe or not. They simply hold their breath so long when upset and do pass out. Then the body takes over and all is fine. I used to watch a little girl that did it all the time, freaks you out.

MaryBeth said...

Very scary... sounds like you remained much more calm than I would have!

Dorinda said...

Checked with the doctor - they think she had a seizure so she's going in for an appt. in the AM

Kristy said...

Whoa! We'll pray for sweet Rachel...keep us posted!!

Momma-of-5 said...

That is sooooooooooooooooo scary. I can't even imagine. I almost had to make a call today too. My 4 year old had a 103.2 fever and it hadn't even finished registering when he got sick of it being in his mouth. I was SO scared he'd start siezing at some point.

Because...fyi...yet another thing we have in common...the family history of Siezures.

Momma-of-5 said...

p.s. We'll be praying for you guys.

Tripletblessed said...

Eek how scary, I'm so glad that she is ok. I hope the dr finds that everything is normal.