Febrile Seizures

It was April just two weeks before her 2nd birthday, in the middle of a freak spring snow storm it happened for the first time – dreaded febrile seizure. Our little Ellie was laying in my Mom’s bed early in the morning drinking her milk and suddenly started to shake. Quickly my mom yelled for me, I came running to find her shaking, lips blue, and eyes rolled back in her head. This was terrifying to see, so many thoughts were racing through my head. We quickly dialed 9-1-1 and the ambulance was there in no time, she was then rushed to Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, RI at which point she was diagnosed with her first febrile seizure.

What is a febrile seizure? It’s common for children under 6 years old and it occurs when their temperature spikes quickly. Not how high the actual number is, but actually how fast the number goes up.

Thankfully, the doctors assured us that she was fine. We saw her pediatrician when we arrived home and she provided us the exact same diagnosis, thankfully! However, witnessing it as her mom is an image for which I will never be able to get out my head.

Everything that I have read, asked, and researched says it’s not something you can prevent – something which can be quite unnerving as a mom. Will she be okay? Will it happen while she is sleeping? When she is riding her bike or walking down the stairs? I know we all have these thoughts, but at the end of the day, she is a very healthy kid and we very lucky as a family for our general good health.

Since her first one bout with these scary episodes, she has had 7 additional febrile seizures, all different and different circumstances but all equally as scary. We have since been to Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia (CHOP), for an EEG and an appointment with her neurologist. CHOP is an absolutely wonderful hospital, that takes time to answer parents questions, is welcoming, and provides top care – however, I hope that none of you have to visit!

Almost two weeks ago Ellie had another seizure, this one we believe wasn’t febrile. I will be taking Ellie back down to CHOP in early November for a follow-up and another EEG to see if we can get to the bottom of all of this. I have much anticipation about this visit, all while trying to keep my cool for my little angel.

Until then, I will check her temp like crazy, give her lots of vitamins even if I’m not 100% they make a difference, wash our hands A LOT, and try to keep calm!

I hope none of you have had to experience this, but if you have or know someone who has, I would love to hear about your experiences below in the comments or shoot me an email.