A Thanksgiving to remember...

How was YOUR Thanksgiving? Let me tell you all about ours!

Our day started off really slow. We actually hung around the house in PJs for the first half of the day. We toyed around with the idea of going to get our tree (out of sheer boredom!), but decided that we'd rather stick to our tradition of picking out our tree on the day after Thanksgiving. Jayden went down for a nap, my husband ran to 7 (or was it 13?!) gas stations to find me a Thanksgiving newspaper, and I knitted. Bored. I thought about gumbo and wished I had some. Instead, I made me a turkey sandwich and announced that at least I enjoyed some turkey on Turkey day. Jayden woke up from his nap in a great mood and my husband said "I wonder if Bass Pro Shop is open today?" Actually, they were and Santa was there! So we got dressed and headed over to Bass Pro. Jayden remembered the building from last year and as soon as we pulled up he yelled, "HO HO HO!!" He knew he was going to see Santa. We got inside and Jayden was saying, "Santa, where are you??" We got to the back and Jayden ran straight to Santa's lap. He took some pictures and then went to write a letter to Santa and we snapped some pictures of him mailing his letter. I should really get back to sharing pictures on this blog. Really, I should! After he mailed his letter, he ran back to Santa again. He just couldn't get enough of the big guy (and the candy canes!). Next he played on some boats and sat on some quads. Then we decided to go out for our non traditional Thanksgiving dinner at LoneStar Steakhouse. This is where someone decided that our day was simply too boring and we needed some excitement...

Lonestar was dead! What? No one eats steak for Thanksgiving?? LOL! It was fine for us though b/c we knew Jayden would do better in a less crowded environment. We got our seat and Jayden unrolled his silverware and started playing with the utensils, as usual. He was also climbing under the table going to sit with my husband and then coming back to sit with me. Nothing unusual for him. We colored on his coloring page, I traced his hand, and I gave him his drink. He was totally fine. Then my cell phone rang. It was my sister in law calling to check in on us since we weren't able to make it to the family dinner in New Orleans. I could hear all of the chaos in the background and I said, "Oh yeah, it sounds hectic over there!" As we were talking, Jayden was still playing under the table (at least I thought he was) and then he started screaming. But Jayden is a screamer, so I didn't even think anything was wrong. I told my siter in law, "Girl, let me tame my child, I'll call you back!" I hung up the phone and Jayden was closer to my seat so I was trying to pull him up and my husband was trying as well. Jayden was facing me and screaming, but I wasn't really looking into his face b/c, again, I didn't think anything was wrong, just that he was being naughty. I noticed that he was extremely hard to pull up, as if he was stuck. Then he started screaming and crying "Mommeeee, mommeee, mommeeeee!!!" I heard fear in his voice and it was a sad cry, not his angry cry. I looked down in his face and it was like he was begging for help. His fists were clenched and I had to PRY the fork out of his hand. I kept trying to pull him up and reached down to see if his leg was stuck or something b/c something was hurting him. Then I noticed his legs were crossed and he wouldn't uncross them. It still didn't cross my mind that he could be having a seizure though. I could NOT get him from under the table, so my husband was able to grab Jayden's shirt and pull him from under. Jayden got into the booth by my husband and his expression was just distant. He stared up at the ceiling trembling, clenching the table and whining saying "Scared scared" and at one point he said "Spiderman", but the look on his face was like he had checked out. I looked at my husband and I said "Now I think that was a seizure." Only, we didn't know what to expect next. He leaned against my husband and wanted to be held close. He screamed if he wasn't snuggled up against his daddy. Mike took him outside and I was calling my mom to see if a trip to the ER was necessary. My mom didn't answer. The waiter deliever our food just as Mike came back and gave Jayden to me. He was still whining and the only word him would say is "scared" and his voice was getting weaker and weaker. Then he got very cold and clammy and just went kind of limp. Mike ran to get our waiter, got our check, and left...no dinner for us! As we got outside, Jayden wasn't responding to me anymore, just a very weak cry. I contemplated calling an ambulance at that moment, but I knew I wouldn't be able to wait around for one so we jumped in the truck and I sat in the backseat and held Jayden while Mike drove to the ER. He had on his hazard lights, but the traffic wasn't bad at all and we got to the ER pretty quick. I went to checxk him in and the girl at check in was basically ignoring me at the window so I said "My son is having seizures and is non responsive. Then she noticed the limp, moaning child in my arms and got us checked in and called back immediately. In triage, they made me stand him up and he was just moaning, not responding to anything, not even candy or spiderman stickers. And when I stood him up he fell. My baby couldn't even walk :( I was SO scared. All of his vitals were stable though. We went to a room and 3 ER doctors checked him out. We were telling them that we "think" he had a seizure, but we just weren't sure. The Drs all agreed that Jayden was showing the classic symptoms of a generalized seizure that affected his entire brain, which is why he couldn't walk or talk and why he was probably hallucinating when he said spiderman when we were in the restaurant. The main concern was how long the seizure lasted. We believe it lasted for 30-45 seconds, but we are certain it didn't last for 5 minutes, which is when they say it gets dangerous for him. So now the hard part was him recovering from it and his brain activity returning to normal. After about an hour in the ER, he was talking again. He even asked the Dr for some juice. He still couldn't walk though and that was very scary. We had to stay until he was pretty stable on his feet. Once he was able to walk without falling backwards, they let us go. They gave us a prescription for a medication called Diastat, which is basically a seizure medication given rectally to stop a seizure that has gone on for 5 minutes or more. We have to carry it with us where ever we go. The ER dr also told us that it is VERY important for him to have a followup with his neurologist since this is basically the first time he's had a seizure like this (that we know of) since being on his antiseizure medication. His neurologist needs to know this b/c he may have to change Jayden's medication or the dosage, and he needs to get the results from Jayden's MRI back stat b/c his condition has changed since starting his antiseizure meds. So the clinic is closed today, but I will be calling on Monday morning. His MRI is scheduled for Wednesday, so I'm hoping that the Dr can squeeze us in on wednesday after the MRI and hopefully have some answers for us.

Jayden bounced back by 10 o clock last night. He did throw up twice, which is what I was waiting for b/c whenever I've witnessed someone have a seizure, they usually threw up afterwards. After he threw up, he was jumping in bed, requesting movies, and being bossy! LOL. Jayden was back. This morning he was OFF.THE.CHAIN. But let me tell you how thankful I was to have my hyperactive, mischievous, son back. Last night, when he was limp, quiet, non responsive, and not able to walk, I just imagined what life would be like if my baby didn't gain his skills back. Things like this happen to parents so often when children have brain injuries, and I just had that fear. I thank God that we didn't have to endure such heartache and I pray for the parents that are going through that hell.