Pages

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Chloe May Sabay*

Chloe wasn't feeling well last week. On Monday morning she was running a little fever but was fine by the afternoon. She was acting a little whiney all week but was still playing and drinking fluids although her appetite was slightly reduced.

Last Thursday, she woke up with some minor chest congestion and by the afternoon she was running a fever again. Her fever never seemed too high. It kind of hovered around 101 all afternoon and evening. We were traveling on Thursday so I wasn't able to take her to the doctor that day. Before I went to bed that evening I checked her fever again and it was 102.1, so I gave her some Tylenol and planned to take her to the doctor the next morning.

At around midnight, she woke up kind of whining. I went to lay down with her in her bed and check her temperature again. It was 100.6. I laid down with her for about an hour and checked her temp again at 1:00am. It was 101.8 so I was planning on giving her more Tylenol at 1:30 which would have been four hours.

At 1:15am she began to seize. It was dark in her room and I was half asleep myself so when the convulsion began I couldn't tell if she was choking or seizing. She wasn't breathing. When Jeff ran into the room and turned on the light I saw her clenched jaw, drool, and tight, convulsing body and I knew it was a seizure.

We ran out of the house and drove to the hospital like mad people. (This isn't an usual sight since traffic laws are a bit loose here). Her seizure lasted maybe 3 or 4 minutes but to us it was a lifetime.

We were at the hospital within 7 minutes and they were cooling her down instantly. We won a 36 hour stay in the hospital just to make sure she didn't have another one. They let us come home yesterday and she is doing just fine now. The fever was caused by strep throat. She never really was all that sick and her blood test showed only minor infection.

She was pretty out of it Friday morning until almost 9:00am when she just sat up and started "talking" to us and wanting to get down from her bed to walk. The transition from limp, lifeless baby to playful toddler was almost instantly. The cool part is the minute she was back to normal was also the same time that people in our company were in their usual quiet time. Behold the power of group prayer.

Our biggest fear was that seizure would cause brain damage but she is completely back to her usual self- waving, smiling, walking, talking and giving us "5's"- even throwing temper tantrums.
Remember in your quiet times to thank our father that he saw her through and all is well.
Here are a couple of pics.





*May Sabay translates to not well or sick.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

We all wish we could have been there for moral support. She looked so pitiful. I'll have to find the hospital pics of Jeff when he was about that same age; same little sad face. We are very thankful that she is back to normal. Also that it happened when it did and not while you are on your trip south. I hate to hear the word 'strep'. It can have such devastating effects if not treated properly. It sounds like you were in good hands.
Still praying for continued good health!
Love you,
Mom

Kenneth said...

It is scary to feel so helpless when your child is sick. Been there and done that and didn't like it at all. Glad to hear that she is back to her usual self now though. Prayer accomplishes amazing results. Thinking about you guys often.

Erika and Nick said...

Heather and Jeff,
I am so glad she is feeling better! That is scary stuff. We are praying for continued recovery and she gets to feeling 100% better!
love, Erika H.

Anonymous said...

Heather - I am SO glad Chloe is ok. How scary!
- Katie G

Anonymous said...

Wow, I know how scared the two of you were; as almost everyone with small children will say, had that happen to us, too, and I'll never forget those scary midnight trips to the hospital. (Diana, asthma, couldn't breathe, turning blue more than once)
So very, very happy to hear that she made a quick recovery, and so very, very glad you have good medical care there, plus your "support group", bless them!
Love, Gma Pat

Barbara Allen said...

Aw, Chloe Baby ... Heather Baby ...

Anonymous said...

oh gosh - my heart skipped a little beat when i read this. I'm so glad she's ok and recovering fine. Love you guys and miss you!