I got the call from our Nanny, Maria, yesterday afternoon. I immediatly knew something was up because she has never once called me for anything since she started working for us - NEVER. She sounded extremely frantic and said that Olivia had been unconscious and unresponsive. What a horribly frightening moment for me, as her mommy, to be miles away and totally helpless. Maria said that she seemed to be alright at the moment, but to please hurry home, and I told her to call 911 if she went unconcious again. A million thoughts raced through my mind as we raced home to assess the situation. Apparently, Olivia had been upset and crying because she was getting her diaper changed (not uncommom for them, they always scream and cry whenever we lay them down to change them) - and then Maria said that all of a sudden Olivia just got quiet and went limp, her eyes rolled back into her head. Maria tried picking her up and screaming her name but Olivia just laid there limp not responding. Maria ran downstairs to our neighbors door to yell for help, and after what she thought was about a minute or two, she said that Olivia came to and opened her eyes again. She did check to make sure Olivia was breathing the whole time, and she was. When we got home, she seemed fine - was playing and even wanting to eat. I called her pediatrician and they advised me to take her to the Emergency Room.
We took her to the ER and they monitored her for a long time. I was concerned that it might have had something to do with her PFO (heart condition), but they said that wasn't related to the incident. They at first thought it was a seizure, but ruled that out since she wasn't shaking around during the episode. So after a million questions and a full exam, the doctors are attributing it to "Breath-Holding Spells". They gave me a bunch of information about it:
Breath holding spells begin at age 6 months to 2 years, and usually stop when a child is 4 or 5 years old. Your child may hold his breath when he is suddenly injured, frustrated, angry or frightened. During a breath holding spell your child:
- may make one or two cries and then hold his beath until he becomes blue
around the lips and passes out.- may stiffen out when he or she passes out.
- will breath normally again and become fully alert in less than 1 minute.
These spells are dramatic, uncontrolled events that happen in otherwise healthy children. The typical spell begins when a child becomes upset, is statled, or has a minor injury. Your child will usually stiffen, turn blue, relax, wake up and start breathing again.
These episodes are often frightening to parents. They can be worrisome to physicians, because the spells can mimic serious or life-threatening conditions. They may require careful evaluation. They are a common pediatric problem. Simple spells occur in about a quarter of healthy children.
After almost 3 hours at the ER, the doctors assured me that these spells are harmless and will stop on their own. But that doesn't make them any less scary for the parents! Geeze Louise!!
The girls were really good while at the hospital. They sat and played on a gurney while we waited to see a doctor. They definitely enjoyed all the attention they were getting from the nurses! (sorry for the crappy cell phone pictures)
And all the commotion certainly did not deter Olivia's appetite!
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