The Fighter Wins Another Round

For a child that wakes up every time a bump is heard or the wind blows, last night God covered Owens ears and he slept soundly. He didn't hear the firetruck and the ambulance, didn't stir when 5 firemen rushed upstairs to his brothers room, and didn't flinch at the calls of "stay with me! Stay with me!" It was a bad day that turned into a worse night, and through it all Owen slept like an angel just as angels worked hard to save our fighter.

Amy went to Pilates last night with her friends from the neighborhood. After a long day it was a chance to escape, a chance to forget about the seizures that had rocked Noah. There where five total and each of them were intense, but the last one was at 2:38 in the afternoon so he had put some distance between the last seizure and bedtime. Noah went to sleep around 6:00 and Amy left around 6:20. Owen and I listened to some music, a new favorite of his is Pearl Jam, he loves to pretend he is in a rock band and it wore him out. He was ready for bed by 7 and as usual he went without a fuss. I grabbed a book and turned on a movie (multi-tasking at it's laziest)when about 45 minutes later I thought I heard a dog barking. Boy, shut that dog up! I thought. Then a moment of panic hit me, that's not outside, that's in our house. I ran upstairs to find Noah in the grips of a seizure like I have never seen, it was simply massive. His body shaking violently, his lungs gasping for air. He needed his emergency medication immediately.

I ran downstairs to get the Diastat and grabbed my phone. I pulled Noah from his crib and and lay him on the changing table so as to administer the medication that has a Valium like effect and should stop the seizure. I called 911, the operator was asking questions but I hung up after she said the ambulance was on it's way. The drug injected I moved him to the floor and placed a call to my Mom so she could stay with Owen, knowing that we would certainly be on our way to the hospital. I also called our neighbor Mark thinking my Mom wouldn't get there in time. It was after that call that Noah stopped breathing, his body turning an instant shade of gray. I placed my ear to his chest and confirmed that his lungs weren't taking in oxygen, I then tilted his head up and blew two breaths into a body that had become lifeless. The air worked and shocked his system or his body reconciled with the medication and he began breathing, that first gasp of air was an amazing victory, the fighter with a firm right hook to the seizure that was trying so hard to take him. Amy had come just in time to see me breathing air into our child. Her presence brought an instant calm to the situation. In a moment of crisis, Amy is the person to have by your side as she has an amazing ability to act with calming urgency.

"Stay with me, stay with me!" I pleaded. He has been through so much and I knew he had so much fight left. "Come on buddy, come on!" as I cleared his mouth. And then the first gasp of air came just as the the firefighters arrived. They gave him oxygen, took our report, and placed him in an ambulance to the OHSU emergency room with Amy riding with him in back. I followed with my brother sitting next to me in the car, "He's going to be okay" he said, "we got this." I knew we were in the clear but his support meant the world to me at that moment. "You okay?" He asked. "Yeah," I said "Just shaken a bit" I said.

After a few hours in the emergency room we were released. Noah recovered remarkably well for a seizure of that strength. We need a follow up visit with his Neurologist and to talk about what happened and exam him for any damage that we cant see, but this morning he was talking and signing, and probably the hungriest I have ever seen him. We came so close to losing him. Back in September in the ICU we were close, last night I think we were closer yet, each time though is another victory. We are a bit numb today, still in shock but also so thankful for what we have. So fortunate to have both our boys, one that slept well, the other not so much.

Today is a new day. Today is another opportunity to be the best person, best parent, best son, daughter you can be. Nobody knows how much time we have left, but I do know how hard we fight to get another shot. I know how hard Noah fought. I like to think that each of us will fight just as hard. Don't waste second. Please keep Noah in your thoughts today, we are blessed to have the little fighter at home.

Best,
G