Ok, I am usually a very calm person, even in an emergency, but this morning I found out what it's like to be on the other side of the fence. My 13-year-old son, 3-days post-op from knee surgery (no complications, now weight bearing, normal PO intake), got up and all seemed well. A few minutes later, he asked if he "should feel this nauseated," so I told him to sit down. He sat down, then layed down. Next thing I know, every bit of color has left his body, turned gray, and his eyes rolled back in his head. He began to have what appeared to be tonic-clonic movements of his upper body, would not respond, and suddenly stopped breathing. I absolutely went into panic mode, started screaming for my husband who was asleep down the hall. When he didn't come right away, I ran down the hall screaming for him to call 911 and rushed back to my son. I ended up giving my son 2 rescue breaths. He did come to at that point, didn't remember a thing that had just happened. He was lethargic, but responding. The fire department and paramedics arrived and took him to the ER. ER doc thinks he "blacked out" and didn't seem to think it was a big deal--liter of LR and sent him home. I'm not so convinced after witnessing the seizure-like movements and will be folowing up with neurology. My daughter and husband have been teasing me all afternoon about screaming and panicing, but they were not the ones who saw what appeared to be a dead 13-year old, nor were they the ones who had to give him resuce breaths. I know I lost my calm, but considering it is my son, I think I did ok. I will definitely have a new appreciation of families who have been in similar situations. I also hope to NEVER be in that situation again. I will be giving a LOT more hugs now!
i would have reacted the same way. don't ever think you could be too overly concerned or "panicky" about someone you love. you are a mother first, no matter what your profession is.
It's different when it's your child. I can handle any code situation with any age person at work, but when it comes to my kids, I'm sure I would lose my mind.
I've been there too; my youngest son who is now 13.5 months. What happened was I took him to the pedi for an unexplained fever and was told at the exam that he was afebrile but I had given him Motrin like 3 hours before that. Well, it was really hot outside and me, him, and my mom went out to eat just a block from the Dr. office. We had just set him down in his car seat on the cement so I could hoist him up into the car when his eyes rolled back in his head and he was unresponsive. It only lasted 10 sec. or so but I started screaming at my mom for her to help me. I took him by the shoulders and shook him and then he looked right at me and smiled. Those 10 seconds were the longest of my life!
Took him right back to the Dr. office and they diagnosed a febrile seizure after taking his temp which was 102 something or other. The pedi thought his temp had gone up fast, causing the seizure...and he was due for another dose of Motrin at the time. Scared me to death; I thought I'd lost him.
you are a mom first, but when I reread what you wrote. You were also a nurse. Think about it. you used your observations first, assessed, you requested help, you initiated rescue breathes. Just like we do in a hospital setting.
Differences is, instead of picking up the pts phone or yelling to call code blue/ red green or black for that matter, you had your husband call. You did not have the luxury of peer at your side, you had to rely on yourself.. you did great.
my hat is off to you. you were a great mom & nurse all at the same time.
How scary for you! It is so different when it is someone you love; I think you did great.
I used to be a midwife's assistant, I've attended hundreds of births...but when I was the nurse at a friend's birth, and her baby came out floppy and blue, I had what felt like a full 15-30 seconds of complete paralysis. I was so scared for her, I could not believe her baby looked like such crap, and my mind was a complete blank--I had no idea what to do. Fortunately the midwife was taking care of business, and I managed to keep my "poker face".
I've seen the video since, and I look totally normal and I'm actually doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I'll bet it was similar to what you experienced--I *felt* very panicked and out of control--but in reality I at least looked like I was totally in control and doing fine. I suspect you panicked less "externally" than you did internally. In any case, you did exactly what you were supposed to do--called for help, gave rescue breaths, and stabilized him best you could until EMS got there. Holy cow, I never want to see my child do that.
I hope he continues to do better. Lucky for him that you are his mom--what if you weren't a nurse, what if you wouldn't have known what to do? Thank goodness you were there!
I am so sorry that this happened to you. I screamed when my daughter fell off her horse and everyone yelled at me! AND then there were some ladies trash talking me at the barn because I MUST be an awful ED nurse if I cannot even stay calm watching my daughter dangle upside down from the horse with her foot caught in a stirr-up!!! We are mommies first and then nurses! You did a good job taking care of your son.
Please follow up but I have seen many syncopal episodes where I would swear the person was having a seizure. I assist teaching a phlebotomy course and like to warn the students that a fainting person can do wierd things with their bodies.
Working OB we'd get women postpartum that needed to be lowered to the floor before they dropped. They's turn grey, and have twitching movements until the blood flow started to their brain again. Sounds like what happened to your son, and it's terrifying the first time you see it. They needed more time to rest and fluids, and then they were fine. Thank goodness it's an easy fix.
No pediatric neurologist I know is going to work up a first time brief seizure, even if its generalized tonic clonic. The chances of finding anything wrong are virtually nil, so its usually not worth doing anything about, as long as they are totally asymptomatic once they are in the ER.
Everybody gets one seizure for free with no workup. They dont worry about it unless the kid is having multiple seizures or the seizure is lasting longer than 15 mins.
Febrile seizures are the same way--there's nothing to do for them. You reassure the parents and send the child home. Motrin and other NSAIDS may limit fevers, but they dont stop or prevent febrile seizures.
I blacked out at work once and believe me my coworkers were not calm and it was in an ICU. When it is someone you know it is different and I can't imagine how I would react if it were my kid. You did great and saved him don't feel bad that you were not calm that is your baby and your mom instincts kicked in. Hats off to you!!!!!
. you did great.
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angel337, MSN, RN
899 Posts
i would have reacted the same way. don't ever think you could be too overly concerned or "panicky" about someone you love. you are a mother first, no matter what your profession is.