Last Night.

We have had a scary night with our sweet baby Maxwell. Last night we were having a big backyard BBQ with Eric's side of the family. Danny and Mariah (Erics cousin and her husband and kids) were in town from Ohio. So, we had them over along with the Lovells and Keslers. It was a nice evening, the kids were swimming and running around and we were relaxing and eating. Then all of a sudden Max cried out like he was hurt. I ran over to see him laying on the ground, all stiff, arched and purple, like he was holding his breath. I ran to him, I picked him up and his mouth was open like he was trying to cry but couldn't and he was completely stiff. Hs head and back were arched and I could not even get him to let me cradle him... he was too stiff. I called to Eric and for someone to call 911. Eric came and got him out of my arms only for Max to go limp, roll his eyes back in his head and lose consciousness. I have always heard in emergency situatins like this you should try and remain calm, but that is so much easier said then done. Then next few minutes ... which felt like forever are kind of a blurr. I know we got someones keys and someone handed us a cell phone, someone was on the phone trying to give directions to 911. The thought of waiting for an ambulance when Max was completely unresponsive seemed crazy to me so we left in the car, me driving and Eric holding Max.

When we got in the car, Max began to wake up, he was out of it but at least conscious. We drove 2 blocks away to an after hours emergency care by our house. They told us they would get his vitals and call the hospital for us but they could not treat him there. Max was now awake, his O2 levels were low and his skin was yellow with a greenish tint around his eyes.

They sent us directly over to American Fork ER, with plans to then take us by ambulance to Primary Childrens Hospital. They didnt want us driving to Primary Childrens alone without Max being able to be monitored on the ride.

At this point we were able to get phone calls from Eric's family who had seen what had happened, since we were still unsure and thought he had possibly fallen. Max had been playing with his cousins and his little cousin who is almost his age, came up behind and grabbed him by his hair in the back of his head and yanked his head back. Max fell backward still in that arched position and that is when his body seized up. Which I why when I got him he was not breathing and so stiff.

At AF hospital, they told us there are 2 main arteries in the neck that if they lose blood flow can cause seizures and passing out. They did a CT scan on his, luckily we were able to keep him still by holding his hands and singing to him so he didnt need sedated. The Ct scans were normal and after a lot of waiting and some blood tests we were able to come home just before midnight last night. 

They told us that Max did have a seizure, and its difficult to know if this could be something he could be prone to. He is going to see a Neurologist at Primary Childrens Tuesday to get an MRI and EKG as well as for Eric and I to be better educated on seizures and what to do if it happened again. 

They said most likely since they were no signs of a head hit in the CT scan, it was the yank back on his head that caused the seizure. They explained it more in depth than that but basically that was the cause.  We are just so glad he didnt lose consciousness for too long. It would have been even more horrifying. They had us keep MAx in our room last night so I could periodically wake him in the night and make sure he recognized me. He was cranky when I did it and kept trying to pull his IV out but everything went fine. I just didnt sleep much.

Max is acting like himself today and when I took him back to the hospital for a check this morning they said it is reassuring to see him acting like himself. 

Thanks for those of you who had Maxwell in your prayers today and last night. It is horrible to see your child in such distress. we will continue to closely watch him and hopefully after all the other tests and the seizure clinic, this will be behind us. 

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