🚨⚠ New mums – please read this all the way right to the end of the note as a precaution ; should you ever have the misfortune (Heaven forbid) and find yourselves in this horrible situation, I hope and pray my experience through and of it can spare you a fraction of the heartache that can come with it.
A week ago from this day, Seren suffered a Febrile Convulsion.
She turned blue, started fiercely convulsing and rolling her eyes back and completely stopped breathing. It was nothing short of terrifying and came on very suddenly and out of nowhere (she had been fit & well prior to this episode, she had a dose of calpol after her nap having realized her temperature had risen)
Seren remained unconscious for approximately 25 seconds, before slowly regaining consciousness and responsiveness. She did however remain confused and dazed for about an hour before making a full recovery to her usual happy and mobile self.
This entire experience has been immensely and intensely disturbing and nothing short of the worst nightmares imaginable. Those 25 seconds when my baby girl was unresponsive were the longest of my life and in which my world had stopped and come to an eerie standstill… I was hysterical, cradling my baby girl in my arms, petrified that she wouldn’t awake and desperately praying out aloud whilst frantically calling her name.
Seren had contracted a virus that led multiple temperature spikes (SEVEN to be exact) and each over 40degrees Celsius over the next three nights whilst she was admitted in hospital. Those three days were supremely awful and are still indescribably difficult for me to articulate which is why I won’t.
The end thankfully is much happier and we are home safe and sound and far removed from the ugly reality of this incident and the days that followed.
The reason for me penning this post is to raise awareness about Febrile convulsions. I only wish I had had knowledge of these before!
In my attendance of Ante natal classes as well as baby first-aid courses, I hadn’t been educated about the relatively high chances of toddlers suffering Febrile Convulsions. Here are some facts about Febrile Convulsions new parents should be aware of :
▪️it usually happens to 1 in 20 children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years.
▪️chances are it will only ever happen ONCE and NEVER AGAIN. Recurrences are rare!
▪️it will LOOK like your child is dying, but THEY ARE NOT so please try your best to not panic and remain calm and controlled
▪️they will NOT usually endure brain damage following the seizure or have any other long last health problems afterwards
▪️when it happens it’s usually the FIRST indicator sign that the child has a fever over 38 degrees on the first day of the viral illness or any other cause of the fever.
👩🏻⚕️Thank you so much to Park View Mediclinic hospital for their high standard of care and their constant reassurance during our time there.
Thank you to all those I reached out to to lift Seren up in prayer. In times of desperation, I truly believe that the power of prayer and faith in God’s intervention can bring one hope and the soul, peace.
🙏Please pray this never happens again to Seren.
🙏Please pray that the constant frightening flashbacks I’m getting lessen and eventually diminish to a distant and forgotten memory.
🙏Please pray that I’ll be able to be less anxious when I’m not with her and be able to sleep comfortably through the night again.
As for me, I am :
🙏Praying for protection for all the little ones in Dubai from these cruel viruses that plague the air.
🙏Praying that sharing this will help reassure and comfort any other Mum should their child too suffer from a febrile convulsion.
🙏Praying for strength of character and resilience in parents that witness the tragedy that is their little ones having seizures on a regular basis. I cannot imagine how gut-wrenching it must be and I humbly and sincerely lift you up in prayer.
#febrileconvulsionawareness