It's been an interesting and eventful few days for us as a family. Wednesday brought Foz's day off and the afternoon found us at home having some dinner before a planned trip to the park. We left Bee watching CBeebies as Foz brought the washing in off the line and I nipped upstairs. We'd recently got Bee some new George Pig bedding and Bee was very excited as Daddy was bringing it in off the line.
I started downstairs a few minutes later to find Bee halfway up, unattended dragging her George Pig duvet cover behind her saying "me bed, me bed". She wanted to put it on her bed. I said her name and asked her to wait there, stay there, panicked even though I knew she was capable of climbing the stairs. It was the bedding that worried me.
As I shouted her her feet got tangled and she lost her balance, falling face-first down the stairs. I screamed and dashed down after her, nowhere near able to make it in time and she hit the bottom with her shoulder and the side of her face. I was horrified and screamed for Foz, who came running out of the garden. I picked her up and thankfully she was hysterical (and not unconscious) but her nose was bleeding and a lump was forming on her temple. I was concerned about broken bones and we agreed a trip to A&E was necessary.
Foz held her on his knee, trying to calm her down as I dashed about packing a bag with all the essentials. Within 10 minutes we were in the car and making the 10 minute drive to the hospital, feeling like the worst parents that ever were or will be.
A&E booked us in and we went sent down to Children's A&E to wait for the doctor. Of course once we got there and Bee saw all the toys all she wanted to do was play. Typical. I've lost count of how many times I've said to a doctor "she is ill...honest!"
After a couple of hours of waiting we were sent home with a head injury advice sheet and a warning to keep an eye on her, like we wouldn't! As she hadn't been knocked unconscious they weren't too worried about concussion and she had brightened up during the wait, even though she was still a little quiet. We took her home and kept her up for the required 2 hours before Foz put her to bed.
The following morning, Thursday, Bee woke, seemingly o.k but as the day wore on I could tell she wasn't herself. She was quiet and wobbly on her feet, had a very snotty nose with a cough and kept stumbling. Her temperature was on the rise too. Still, there was nothing concrete to justify taking her back to see a doctor so she had some medicine and went to bed at the usual time.
Just past Midnight I went up to bed and popped my head in to check on her. She was surprisingly already awake and so I went in, sitting with her a while and stroking her hand. She was very hot and snuffly, letting out the odd little cough. After 10 minutes or so she started making the sound that I know means imminent vomit so I sat her up and shouted Foz, who came up with wipes and other necessities. She was sick everywhere and as I stroked her back for comfort she suddenly went rigid and almost flung herself back onto the bed, her eyes bulging and not focused, her arms and legs jerking with spasms shaking her whole little body. She wasn't drawing breath. Foz and I panicked, him trying to hold her to stop her hurting herself on the metal frame of her bed and me screaming her name. I ended up clapping as loud as I could in her face, it was all I could think of to stop her. The whole thing lasted about 10-15 seconds but it felt like a lifetime, those moments where my daughter wasn't breathing and I had no idea what to do, I was helpless.
After she snapped out of it she was hysterical. Foz and I didn't even have to say anything to each other, he started to comfort her and get her changed from the sick-covered pyjamas and I rushed around packing another bag for A&E. We were on the road by 12:40am, making the 10 minute trip. All kinds were going through my mind, my main concern was that the bump to her head had caused some kind of brain damage. Looking back it was probably a silly fear but I'd never seen her like that, never seen anything so terrifying.
We were seen fairly quickly at the hospital, although the main A&E was busy there aren't many children need emergency care at that time in the morning. Thankfully it was the same doctor as the day before so we didn't have to try and explain everything, just what had happened that evening. He was concerned and after giving us some Calpol to put down her tube to bring her temperature down he arranged a bed on the ward.
We made the long trek up the corridor to the Children's Ward where we were lucky enough to have a whole 6-bed bay to ourselves. I'd been worried about sharing the space, as mentioned in previous posts, Bee doesn't really understand appropiate behaviour in certain situations and we would have found it very difficult (virtually impossible) to keep her quiet in respect of children & parents around her sleeping. As far as we're aware Bee doesn't know how to whisper.
By the time the on-call doctor had been round and Bee was able to sleep without being poked and prodded it was getting on for 3:30am. We were all shattered and I left Bee sleeping to take Foz home, he was supposed to be at work in just over 5 hours! We hit McDonalds on the way home, both starving and I stayed at home long enough to eat it with him before heading back to my sleeping Bee on the ward. By this time it was getting on for 5am and as they were due to wake her then anyway (every 2 hours is standard precaution for a head injury) I paced the ward trying to stay awake. Once the check was done, she woke quickly and was alert, both she and I were able to sleep. I curled up in the uncomfortable chair next to her bed, padded it out with pillows and tried to get some sleep.
I was up again by 7am, when the shift change came in. Nurses don;t make any allowances for people sleeping and the ward gets noisy very early. Thankfully Bee slept on, the poor kid was exhausted, so I sat and quietly read my Kindle, waiting for breakfast to come round. My girl must have the nose of a bloodhound as she started to stir just as the breakfast trolley made it to the bay next to ours.
Two plates of toast, a cup of tea for Mama and some CBeebies later and Bee was looking a little brighter. Her raging temperature was gone and she was more alert.
Of course Bee wasn't happy to watch CBeebies in her cot for long so it was off to the play room, which has had a revamp since we were last in-patients. It's very hard to convince a doctor that your child is ill when she's doing this....
Around 10am the doctor came and had a chat with me. The diagnosis: Bee had a febrile seizure brought on her by very high temperature. It was nothing to do with her fall from the day before, it was simply a coincidence.
As heart complications are common in children with Kabuki Syndrome and seizures can be related to that the doctor ordered an ECG for Bee, just to be on the safe side. It came back perfectly clear and we were allowed to go home.
We are aware though that seizures can suddenly manifest in older children with Kabuki Syndrome and it's something that we need to keep an eye on. Should she have another one and there's no high temperature we'll have to go back for further tests. As it is we're on the waiting list for another EEG due to her little 'absences', moments of tuning-out.
Overall it's been a very stressful and worrying few days but Bee has come through it all fine, just a graze on her nose, a bump on her head and a bit of a cough & cold. Thankfully she'll be ready for the start of school on Tuesday, she's such a little soldier.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to add here that our NHS is a very important institution in this country. We've needed a lot of support for Bee since her birth and it's always been there for us, without charge. We've always received the best of care and have met some wonderful medical professionals along the way. Sometimes, when headlines like 'hospital lets patients die in corridor' etc hit the news it's easy to forget that these are isolated incidents in a huge network of healthcare that supports our entire nation using world class training, techniques and equipment FOR FREE.
It doesn't seem to really be penetrating the public consciousness yet but the current Conservative government is attempting the sly, secretive dismantling of the NHS and it's very important that every UK citizen who cherishes what we have gets behind the campaign to save it from privatisation.
This is something that is very important to me.
You can find more information here:
I started downstairs a few minutes later to find Bee halfway up, unattended dragging her George Pig duvet cover behind her saying "me bed, me bed". She wanted to put it on her bed. I said her name and asked her to wait there, stay there, panicked even though I knew she was capable of climbing the stairs. It was the bedding that worried me.
As I shouted her her feet got tangled and she lost her balance, falling face-first down the stairs. I screamed and dashed down after her, nowhere near able to make it in time and she hit the bottom with her shoulder and the side of her face. I was horrified and screamed for Foz, who came running out of the garden. I picked her up and thankfully she was hysterical (and not unconscious) but her nose was bleeding and a lump was forming on her temple. I was concerned about broken bones and we agreed a trip to A&E was necessary.
A&E booked us in and we went sent down to Children's A&E to wait for the doctor. Of course once we got there and Bee saw all the toys all she wanted to do was play. Typical. I've lost count of how many times I've said to a doctor "she is ill...honest!"
After a couple of hours of waiting we were sent home with a head injury advice sheet and a warning to keep an eye on her, like we wouldn't! As she hadn't been knocked unconscious they weren't too worried about concussion and she had brightened up during the wait, even though she was still a little quiet. We took her home and kept her up for the required 2 hours before Foz put her to bed.
The following morning, Thursday, Bee woke, seemingly o.k but as the day wore on I could tell she wasn't herself. She was quiet and wobbly on her feet, had a very snotty nose with a cough and kept stumbling. Her temperature was on the rise too. Still, there was nothing concrete to justify taking her back to see a doctor so she had some medicine and went to bed at the usual time.
Just past Midnight I went up to bed and popped my head in to check on her. She was surprisingly already awake and so I went in, sitting with her a while and stroking her hand. She was very hot and snuffly, letting out the odd little cough. After 10 minutes or so she started making the sound that I know means imminent vomit so I sat her up and shouted Foz, who came up with wipes and other necessities. She was sick everywhere and as I stroked her back for comfort she suddenly went rigid and almost flung herself back onto the bed, her eyes bulging and not focused, her arms and legs jerking with spasms shaking her whole little body. She wasn't drawing breath. Foz and I panicked, him trying to hold her to stop her hurting herself on the metal frame of her bed and me screaming her name. I ended up clapping as loud as I could in her face, it was all I could think of to stop her. The whole thing lasted about 10-15 seconds but it felt like a lifetime, those moments where my daughter wasn't breathing and I had no idea what to do, I was helpless.
After she snapped out of it she was hysterical. Foz and I didn't even have to say anything to each other, he started to comfort her and get her changed from the sick-covered pyjamas and I rushed around packing another bag for A&E. We were on the road by 12:40am, making the 10 minute trip. All kinds were going through my mind, my main concern was that the bump to her head had caused some kind of brain damage. Looking back it was probably a silly fear but I'd never seen her like that, never seen anything so terrifying.
We were seen fairly quickly at the hospital, although the main A&E was busy there aren't many children need emergency care at that time in the morning. Thankfully it was the same doctor as the day before so we didn't have to try and explain everything, just what had happened that evening. He was concerned and after giving us some Calpol to put down her tube to bring her temperature down he arranged a bed on the ward.
We made the long trek up the corridor to the Children's Ward where we were lucky enough to have a whole 6-bed bay to ourselves. I'd been worried about sharing the space, as mentioned in previous posts, Bee doesn't really understand appropiate behaviour in certain situations and we would have found it very difficult (virtually impossible) to keep her quiet in respect of children & parents around her sleeping. As far as we're aware Bee doesn't know how to whisper.
By the time the on-call doctor had been round and Bee was able to sleep without being poked and prodded it was getting on for 3:30am. We were all shattered and I left Bee sleeping to take Foz home, he was supposed to be at work in just over 5 hours! We hit McDonalds on the way home, both starving and I stayed at home long enough to eat it with him before heading back to my sleeping Bee on the ward. By this time it was getting on for 5am and as they were due to wake her then anyway (every 2 hours is standard precaution for a head injury) I paced the ward trying to stay awake. Once the check was done, she woke quickly and was alert, both she and I were able to sleep. I curled up in the uncomfortable chair next to her bed, padded it out with pillows and tried to get some sleep.
 |
| Home comforts can make all the difference |
Two plates of toast, a cup of tea for Mama and some CBeebies later and Bee was looking a little brighter. Her raging temperature was gone and she was more alert.
Of course Bee wasn't happy to watch CBeebies in her cot for long so it was off to the play room, which has had a revamp since we were last in-patients. It's very hard to convince a doctor that your child is ill when she's doing this....
Around 10am the doctor came and had a chat with me. The diagnosis: Bee had a febrile seizure brought on her by very high temperature. It was nothing to do with her fall from the day before, it was simply a coincidence.
As heart complications are common in children with Kabuki Syndrome and seizures can be related to that the doctor ordered an ECG for Bee, just to be on the safe side. It came back perfectly clear and we were allowed to go home.
 |
| Having her ECG |
Overall it's been a very stressful and worrying few days but Bee has come through it all fine, just a graze on her nose, a bump on her head and a bit of a cough & cold. Thankfully she'll be ready for the start of school on Tuesday, she's such a little soldier.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to add here that our NHS is a very important institution in this country. We've needed a lot of support for Bee since her birth and it's always been there for us, without charge. We've always received the best of care and have met some wonderful medical professionals along the way. Sometimes, when headlines like 'hospital lets patients die in corridor' etc hit the news it's easy to forget that these are isolated incidents in a huge network of healthcare that supports our entire nation using world class training, techniques and equipment FOR FREE.
It doesn't seem to really be penetrating the public consciousness yet but the current Conservative government is attempting the sly, secretive dismantling of the NHS and it's very important that every UK citizen who cherishes what we have gets behind the campaign to save it from privatisation.
This is something that is very important to me.
You can find more information here:
1 comment:
Cath,
Great blog thankyou. My son is 24 months with Kabuki Syndrome. For most things you say about bee, you may as well be talking about our Oliver. Coincedently he had a fall off a couch 2 days ago and hit his head. Last night he got a fever and had his first febrile convulsion. It lasted about 3 minutes. He too is ok now. I was just doing some research on Kabuki and Febrile convulsions and stumbled upon your blog. Interesting set of very similar events.
We use facebook for my son "Oliver thekabukikid". Your most welcome to follow.
Keep up the great work your doing!
Cheers
Toby
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