A Mothers Day we won't forget...

Well, this year, mothers day was one of those days. A day that will always be marked in my memory for my entire life. And, since I can't get back to sleep, maybe it will help to write the story down to clear my mind!

Yesterday started out as a totally normal day- Steve and the kids wrapped presents for me for Mothers Day (yay! will post about this later), we opened them, had breakfast and had a great morning together. Like other Sundays, we got ready for church, but this morning I stayed behind because Sebi just fell asleep and I had to get some stuff together for someone.

But, after an hour or so, Sebi woke up, and we drove to the church together and I took him out of the car seat and held him in my arms for our normal meeting which last about an hour. I could tell he wasn't feeling himself- and felt like he had a fever- but I fed him, and thought I'd go talk to Steve before I left early for home to give him some Tylenol.

Sebi and I walked into the chapel before sacrament meeting (like mass), talked to a few people, was trying to get someone's cell phone in my cell phone so I could call her son later in the week, when Sebi went limp in my arms and then started convulsing, getting very ridgid etc. It felt like death. I dropped my cell phone.

I ran out of the meeting which hadn't started yet, but was full of people and tried to get into the office to call 911 that was locked.. Then, screamed for someone to call 911. Time kind of just stopped for me, and I had no idea what to do. As you can imagine, this drew a lot of attention, and there were tons of people that were trying to help which led to a bit of chaos. Someone took him and was about to give CPR, choking maneuvers, but I think I started screaming that he wasn't choking.

And, then our friend - ie Angel - stepped in, who is a trained EMT. He immediately took all of Sebi's clothes off and knew that Sebi was experiencing a febrile seizure. He was so calm and just verbally talked me through step by step, that the seizures would keep on going, he would be out for a while, then wake up screaming...

Sebi's little naked body was lying on a couch while we just waited for him to wake up. It was one of those moments where I felt so hopeless, stupid that I didn't know what to do, frightened, in shock, wondering and thinking about if these were the last moments before he was going to be alive, thinking about how my mom's last moments were very much the same, thinking about where my girls were... it was awful.

Sebi started to wake up, but wasn't crying. He was just lying there, but then the paramedics came in- 5-6 of them and started taking vitals, assessing the situation, putting cold towels on him. He was awake, but totally out of it, and definitely not himself- he just had a blank stare on his face.

They put him on a gurney, and Sebi and I went in a ambulance to our local hospital while Steve got the girls and met us there. On the way over, he started becoming more alert and looking around- but I was really concerned that he wasn't crying and showing more emotion- still completely blank. The EMT was super helpful and just kept talking to me, and telling me about these type of seizures, and how they are really common, that he will be most likely fine... I was very grateful to him.

We got to the hospital, and by this point, Sebi was looking more like himself and the situation was feeling so much better. They took his temp, vitals, we gave him Tylenol, and were out of the hospital in about 2 hours.

Sebastian is doing great, and is just getting over a virus. But, what a day that was- Steve and I were both recovering from the amount of adrenaline going through our bodies for the afternoon. And, of course, I couldn't and probably won't forget the feeling of Sebi's body when he started going through the seizure.

I am so grateful  Grateful for our friend who studied to be an EMT and knew his stuff. I am grateful that he was there. I am grateful for our country and city that the paramedics were able to get there in less than 5 minutes. I am grateful for medicine and science which help us figure out what is going on in our bodies. I am grateful to have a husband who is there to support me. I am grateful for Sebastian's quick recovery and the blessing that he not only is to us, but the blessing that it wasn't something more serious.

The death of my mom has left a huge impact in my life, and I feel it in so many subtle ways- one being that I have an empathy of what this type of sorrow feels like. Today, I feel closer to the people around me who might have gone through something similar and my heart aches for those who have lost their children. I feel very grateful that yesterday was just an event that passed and is a story I can write about the next day. Today I am grateful for the health of my family and for the huge number of blessings that we are surrounded with. Definitely a Mother's Day I won't forget, and it was a good reminder of what is important...