Seizure

Around 4 a.m. this morning, Macayla started stirring in the bed. She’s been restless lately between 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. But this morning, she was having what we believe was a long seizure or cluster of seizures. It was different from what we have seen before. Her legs and arms jerked rhythmically and repetitively while she made some strange sounds over and over. The movements themselves weren’t as unusual as the fact that we couldn’t interrupt them. Anytime she gets hyper and jerky, we can usually interrupt it by changing something in her immediate environment. If she’s watching TV, we can turn it off and she will pause and look at it. If it’s dark, we can turn on a light and she will pause and look around. But this morning, she didn’t stop even when we turned on the light. I picked her up and she continued to do it in my arms without acknowledging me. We decided it was probably a seizure when we saw it suddenly stop and she was instantly asleep and then it started again as quickly as it stopped. The second time it stopped, she looked around and even made eye contact with me for a moment before closing her eyes and it started again. Around 4:45 a.m. we gave her diastat which is a rectal medication used to stop seizures. It is basically made to knock her out and stop the seizures. When we were prescribed the medication two years ago, we had to test it on Macayla in the doctor’s office to see how she reacted. That trial put Macayla to sleep in three minutes, but this morning it took 15 minutes. We’ve never had to use it before this morning for seizures. We are increasing some key medications to help control seizures more. In the meantime, Macayla’s digestion processes have been off for about two weeks. She has been spitting up frequently and even threw up on her birthday (not a fun way to celebrate 6 years old). She has had more difficulty staying regular as well. So, all in all, she has kept us guessing and on our toes. But we are so thankful for the blessing that is Macayla. She is beautiful and it’s amazing what she endures and still smiles.