2 Minutes

2 minutes that made my heart stop for fear of losing my little Lynnea. 2 minutes is how long the seizure lasted, brought on by a sudden spike in her already high fever.This is what happened:
Tuesday afternoon brought on a slight fever which progressed into the low 102's by the time she woke up from her nap at around 4:30. Before she went to bed that night, I gave her some Tylenol and hoped that all would be well in the morning. Midnight brought with it cries from her bed which I immediately answered. As I picked her up, I could feel the fever through her nightgown and, after testing her, realized that her fever was a scorching 103.8 degrees. I had heard of febrile seizures (seizures brought on by fevers) and was always concerned when any of my kids had high fevers.

I drew a lukewarm bath for Lynnea and put her in it to try to take the fever down. Since I had only drawn a little water, I wanted to lay her down to get her hair wet. While I was trying to lay her down, she slipped. I caught her head before it hit the bathtub but it was enough to send her into a panicked scream. The scream lasted for a few seconds and then her eyes glazed over and she went completely limp in my arms. I yelled to Will that she was unresponsive and pulled her wet body onto my lap, rocking her to get her to come back to me. Nothing helped. Will grabbed the phone and dialed 911 as I desperately tried to get Lynnea to respond to me. Her body shook and shook, her teeth clenched, and her eyes stared straight ahead as if in a trance.In a few minutes the paramedics arrived and took Lynnea and me to the hospital. My heart broke to see my precious, tiny baby in her car seat, naked, strapped to a gurney. Once we got to the hospital, she was doing much better and I even had a quick thought that I should take a picture of the paramedics wheeling her into the hospital. That thought quickly disappeared when I thought about what they would think about a mother taking pictures while her daughter lies strapped to a gurney. Anyway, they did numerous tests and x-rays and nothing was found that would have triggered such a high fever. We spent 5 hours in the emergency room and left at 6:15 in the morning. I must thank my dad profusely for volunteering to come, in the middle of the night, sit on the couch and watch movies until we came home. Words cannot express my appreciation, dad. I know you really did want to watch Casino Royale, right? =)

After being poked and prodded, Lynnea finally fell asleep at the hospital and we took her home. The following night her fever spiked again but there was no seizure. As I reflect back on that night I am overwhelmed by God's presence through the whole ordeal. I could feel his hand of peace as I called 911, as the tests were run, and as His precious child lay on that bed. We are only human, with human weaknesses and human emotions but God is our strength and our hope! Lynnea was always in His hands and always will be. Thank you to all who prayed.
I don't think I've ever experienced such complete helplessness (although Tyler's birth was right up there) and I hope it never happens again but I am thankful for those who were involved, the calm voices and helping hands who treated my baby, a stranger to them, with the utmost kindness and love.