The Family

The Family

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Day #23: staying calm during an emergency: a mandatory class for the SAHM

   So my little sister is here this week and my parents are coming next week, so I'm enjoying lots of quality family time. It's also a bonus that my sister is a pediatric ICU nurse since Luke, once again, had a fever induced seizure on Tuesday. Luckily, Tyson was with him when it happened, not me. I don't know that I could have handled it again this soon on my own.
   Tyson and Luke had gone to Home Depot on Tuesday while Savannah and I headed out to do some grocery shopping in preparation for the next two weeks of company. Luke had a low fever that morning and I had given him Tylenol. I had even taken him to the Dr. Saturday because I was sure he had another ear infection, but he checked out 100%, in fact, the Dr. said he looked great! We went to ballet class and Chick- fil- a and he had been a little cranky but nothing out of the ordinary. Well, when Tyson looked back in the car seat after they returned from their errand, Luke was seizing. Tyson explains this all to me in a very detached matter-of-fact tone later that night. Once he realized what was happening, he took Luke inside and put him on the rug in the 'safe' position and made sure nothing was blocking his airway and took his pulse. Then he called 9-1-1 and rode with Luke to the children's hospital where Savannah and I met them. So of course, as a woman and mother, at the end of his tale, the only question I had was, "how are you telling me all this in such a calm manner?? How were you acting so rationally as our child was having a S-E-I-Z-U-R-E?". Fine, my tone may have been slightly accusatory. To which he replied, "Micah, I'm trained to be calm in stressful situations and act rationally." Which got me thinking, there should totally be a mandatory class for all mothers that give us the same training! But of course what I told him is that I am his mother and I must love him more because I am a WRECK when things like this happen to me! I could NEVER act so calmly when I think my child is in the grips of death. A little dramatic, I know. I'm just grateful I have a partner who can act rationally and appropriately in tough situations; maybe some of that will eventually rub off on me.