I wonder if our resident nurse
@Steppesister
has some thoughts?
I am flattered at your confidence in my Baby Nurse skilz. I can only share what I learned in school and from personal experience with my own son a few months ago. Similar, yet not.
Hope everyone had a great holiday! Ours was eventful, but not in a good way. Woke up on the 26th to the sound of DD having a seizure. Called 911 and got her to the hospital right away. They kept her overnight, so she missed her first two days of her new position (within the same company) so she was upset about that. Her MRI, CAT scan And EEG all came out normal. But now she can't drive for 6 months, with the job being 40 miles away (just outside Boston, so lovely traffic too) and to say we are all thrown for a loop is an understatement. I blame the election (why not? Everyone else does!) I hope none of you parents out there ever have to witness your kid having a seizure-- it was the scariest thing we have ever been through. DD doesn't remember anything but waking up to a room full of EMT's and having a sore tongue. (Did I mention the blood on her face?)
So now we don't think we can go to Disney at the end of January, and will likely have to miss our Panama Canal cruise in March. At least I had the foresight to get the "cancel for any reason" insurance.
The weird thing is that she got a call yesterday from a company she interviewed with a year ago, in Providence to say the job opened up again if she'd like to interview, and (drum roll, please)....... It's on the bus line! We are crossing all our fingers and toes.
I'm afraid I don't know your name MHSweb79, but I was struck by your very terrifying story as well. I'm glad you felt like you could come here and share - we're all her to support you 100% and give you virtual hugs and listening ears.
We probably know more about the atmosphere of Venus than we do about seizures. They are still very much in research mode in this area of medicine. That said however, enough is known to make a fairly good diagnosis and the newest generation of meds to treat are actually very effective at keeping them away... sometimes completely even. I can't really comment on your daughters without asking more questions; the first that comes to mind would be if this is her first. My own son (18) had an absence seizure about 4 months ago, and they ran all the same tests they did on your daughter, but our neurologist was ADAMANT that he did not receive a dx of epilepsy until he had another, if ever. We were told that most seizures are an isolated event and never recur. Good news, obviously. Most docs will go with the wait and watch approach. So, honestly, I"m surprised she is on a no-driving protocol if this is a first time event. Then again, perhaps they are being more aggressive due to the TYPE of seizure it was? Again, not enough information for me to make an informed comment with.
Seizures are VERY scary. I've seen many in patients going through ETOH withdrawal. (Now, a small spiel on seizure response and safety as your nightly PSA)
The best thing to do is make sure the person is gently guided to the floor and turn them on their side so they don't choke on their tongue or saliva. Clear furniture away as best you can so they don't have secondary injuries from hitting themselves. YES, call 911. DO NOT try to stick anything in their mouth; very dangerous as they can swallow that and choke or can injure the mouth worse. Don't restrain them, but do be near. When it has finished, re-orient them to where they are. They will be confused, frightened, and may have bleeding, as you saw in both stories shared here. Take care of that. VERY IMPORTANT: The neurologist will NEED as much information about the seizure as s/he can get! This is huge. Knowing what the person was doing at the onset, how long it lasted (TIME IT!), what the patient looked like during it, (ie. did their eyes roll back? Did they shake the whole time? Did one side go limp before the other? etc...) and what their post-ictal state was like, can help them with the diagnosis and the best course of treatment.
So, probably more than you wanted, but that's your nursing teaching of the day.
MHS, I do hope your daughter has a complete recovery and gets the job that is absolutely best for her! She's in Good Hands.
Keep us posted!
So you want a TR on that too, do you?
This vacation can't come soon enough any way have fun and stay safe.
haha!! (shameless plug for extra points)
