Last week was an amazing week in so many ways. On Monday the 23rd we officially adopted Emma. Troy's parents, his sister's family, my parents, her foster family and her social worker & placement coordinator were all there to share in the joy. Above is a picture with her and the judge:-) Sadly our camera files got corrupted, so if you were there can you e-mail me pics.. thanks ;-) It was such a joyful time, after meeting Emma in Jan, having her full time at home in April and then officially making her ours. It's no small thing to take on all the responsibility, and needs of a little one forever and ever, but the reality of that wouldn't set in 'til later that week. We went out to lunch and enjoyed our families that had traveled from all over the state for us. Emma is still very loved and treasured by her foster family who cared for her during her toughest days. It's hard to know how to thank those whose impact changed all our lives.
At home Emma had so much fun playing with her cousins.. isn't it funny how close her hair color matches theirs???!!!
Tuesday, our families left and then Wednesday morning we drove up to Redding (8-9 hours away) to be with my extended family for Thanksgiving. Emma did great, and she spend many more hours spoiled by grandparents. Below is our Thanksgiving picture minus Emma, as she was down for her nap. We took a long walk and chatted with international students from Singapore that we included in our Thanksgiving meal.
Then came Black Friday, and it lived up to it's name. Emma typically sleeps though the night really well, but she woke up screaming on Friday morning about 2:30am. She was still deeply asleep and we couldn't calm her down, she felt blazing hot, so we rushed the 20mins to ER. I had given her Tylenol, and by the time we got to ER she was feeling and looking better. We turned around, went home and we all went back to bed. Emma got up normally and cuddled with my parents. About 9am, while my mom was holding her, she went into a classic seizure, her lips turned blue and we all immediately rushed back to ER. By the time we got to the hospital her temperature was 102.5F. Friday morning we spent doing lots of tests, a chest x-ray, blood draw, catheter for a urinalysis, taking her rectal temperature, all of which resulted in lots of screaming on Emma's part.
Then just as her fever started going down and she was looking better she had another seizure in ER. Six people descended upon her, suddenly they were calling a code, the crash cart was brought in and they were bagging her. Four days after she was officially ours, we never dreamed we'd stand there and watch them want to start CPR. Just when they were talking about intubation, she let out the greatest cry, assuring everyone she was breathing on her own.
Seizures are not for the faint of heart. I've seen a dozen or more with friends, both in the US and overseas.. most memorable was on an international flight. In adults we always "rode them out", I didn't expect quite so much fan fair. Troy stayed amazingly calm given he'd never seen a seizure in person (even though he had these same seizures himself as a child), and watching your child have one is the not the best introduction. By the time her second seizure was over she had an IV, EKG leads, pulse oximeter and O2. Emma was not a happy camper. Her IV was pushing fluids and she hated all the cords. They placed a restraint on her arm to insure she didn't pull out her IV. She had a CT scan and after ruling everything else out, they concluded that she had a febrile seizure. A seizure caused by a fever, a fever from likely a virus.
They wanted to watch her overnight so by that afternoon we were moved up to peds. We had our own private room, and Emma's fever was finally going down. She loved running around and playing in the play room. My parents stayed with her while Troy and I got away from the hospital for a hour. We are so thankful for our family who brought us food, fresh clothes, and Emma's toys. Troy and I stayed the night with her.
Much happier with Grandma.
Emma slept well in her hospital crib, and Troy and I shared a chair/bed. After a seizure free night we were released Saturday morning. By Sunday her fever was gone and we drove home Sunday. Emma is back to normal, running around and climbing on everything. Her follow up visit here was easy. Thankfully she doesn't need meds as kids grow out of febrile seizures by age 5.
The past few years our holiday tradition has been to spend it in ER. Last Thanksgiving we were in the hospital here with Troy's dad. Christmas, we were in ER, when my uncle had a TIA (small stroke) at the dinner table, and now this Thanksgiving we're back to the same hospital with Emma. I don't recommend spending Christmas with us. I think we could write a book with hospital reviews on pillows, food, service, amenities and staff. Troy and I have had our fill of holding down a screaming Emma for blood draws, catheter, etc. Hopefully this week won't be as eventful! b
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