scariest day of my life

Sunday was easily the scariest day of my LIFE. Kina had a seizure and I thought she had died. I hate to relive this awful experience again, but as always . . . for posterity's sake.

We were visiting Wayne's dad's house Sunday afternoon and we were all just sitting around in the living room talking. I had nursed Kina and she was falling asleep in my lap. Suddenly, I heard these weird gasping/choking sounds. I looked down and Kina's eyes were rolling back and her eyelids were fluttering. Her whole body had gone rigid and was shaking. I freaked out. I turned her over and started hitting her back because I thought she was choking. She didn't respond and still wasn't breathing. I started screaming and Wayne grabbed her and started doing CPR. He put her on the hard floor and her body was absolutely stiff with her arms out. Her face turned this darkish blue color and looked weirdly unrecognizable. Wayne kept pressing her little chest and breathing into her mouth but she was totally unresponsive. I just kept crying to Wayne that she wasn't breathing. Everything was going too fast to comprehend what was happening. I couldn't believe we were all just sitting here a moment ago and suddenly she had left us. Melba and Wayne's dad were calling 911 and everyone was crying and screaming. Malia came over and tried to hug me because I was crying and someone took her away. It seemed like chaos for an eternity. . . but I think the whole thing lasted only a few minutes. Thankfully, FINALLY, slowly, the darkness in her face began to fade and she started to move a little. And at that point, the floodgates let loose!!!

To make a long story a little shorter, what Kina had was a Febrile Seizure. It is a seizure caused by a fever. They occur in 2 - 5% of all kids aged 6 months - 5 years old and while they are frightening (uh, understatement of the century) they are usually quite harmless. They say it's more important to determine and treat the cause of the fever rather than the seizure. On Monday Kina had several tests taken to find the cause of her fever (including one that involved a caphiter. kalofae) and will have an EEG or brain scan next week to make sure her brain is normal. Our pediatrician thinks it is, but he wants to make sure so we can know a little more what to expect in the future. Since she is so young, Kina has a 50% chance of having another febrile seizure and is at a slightly higher risk of developing epilepsy. I had never before seen anyone have a seizure, much less a baby, but now that I know what it is I think I'll know better what to expect. Hopefully, I'll be a little better prepared next time.:)

~

Since Sunday I have watched Kina sleep every night and can't get enough kisses or hugs throughout the day. I can't explain the feeling I had when I thought she had died. Tears come to my eyes now as I'm picturing in my head again what she looked like laying there. I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing us with her. I'm so grateful she is okay. I love her so much. She is such a trooper. I thank my Heavenly Father for protecting her. My sweet Kina.