This has been one crazy weekend. On Saturday, I was volunteering at the Sacramento Mothers of Multiples Clothing and Equipment sale. I left the house before the boys woke up and came home after they were already down for their nap. Unfortunately, Dom and Alex (and thus their Dad too) were having a very difficult day–perhaps they just woke up on the wrong side of the crib or missing their morning nursing threw off the rest of their day. They had a fussy morning with Alex even throwing his bowl of food off the table (with food in it). They hadn’t settled to sleep for their nap when I arrived, and once they heard my voice, they cried until we finally decided to go ahead and get them up.
Puck was exhausted from his morning, and I was headachy and tired too. I sent Puck off for a well-deserved nap. The boys and I had a pretty good run in the afternoon, but they were definitely more of a handful than normal. By the end of the day, we were all a bit tired and cranky. Alex was crying after we put him in his crib, so Puck sat in the room with the boys for awhile. I decided to lie down and fell asleep until the middle of the night when I woke up (because one of the boys fussed a bit) and stayed up for a few hours.
Today
This morning started out smoother. We got to sleep in with the boys acting like a snooze button that occasionally let us know they were awake by calling out “ahhh” or giggling. We finally got up at 8 AM–a fresh start to a new day. The boys were cheerful when we went to fetch them from their cribs, and the morning was passing in a sort of happy playfulness. Puck decided not to head to fencing and to instead spend today recovering from our very stressful day yesterday, so I asked him if he wanted to do something special with the boys as a family this morning. We decided to head to the Southside Park with its space theme.
Southside Park
Alex and Dom had a great time at the park. They climbed, explored, rode little rocking mini-rockets, and slid down new slides. They balanced on the shaky ship and went for walks. Alex got super-excited when he saw the rocket in the sky (the camper with wings), and he ran over for a closer look. At one point a little boy in a Captain America costume fell from the top of the play structure and hit the ground pretty hard near where Dom was climbing a ladder. Several parents nearby stopped to check on him, and one mother was going to try to find his parents (as they weren’t forthcoming) but her daughter was still up on the play structure. I offered to take him in search of his parents since I could simply whisk Dom off the ladder and carry him with me. It wasn’t long before the tearful little boy and I found his parents.
Split Paths
Later, Alex and Puck headed off on a sidewalk path toward a more open field section of the park. Soon after Dom and I headed that way too, but once we came within view of the field, I couldn’t see Alex or Puck. Dom headed off to the right around the big pond, and I followed him while keeping an eye out for Alex and Puck. As we got further around the pond, I texted Puck to let him know where we were, and we headed on to complete the circuit of the pond. As we were getting back within sight of the play area, I got out my phone to text Puck again and saw that I had a voicemail from him. I called him back, but someone else answered his phone. It was confusing and scary. Puck had had a seizure. What about Alex? I picked up Dom and ran back to the play area and over to the fire truck parked nearby. I called again, and the guy directed me to the fence around the pond near the rocket in the sky….
The Seizure
Puck was lying on the ground still disoriented while the firefighter first responders tried to get him to keep his oxygen mask on. It was scary, but there was also so much to be thankful for… the bystanders who noticed Puck staggering to get over right beside Alex before he collapsed with the seizure (which was crucial to them realizing that the little boy was his), the one who knew about seizures and what to do (and not do), a fellow named Dave who found Puck’s phone and started calling numbers until he got me, a fellow named Fernando who was holding Alex in his arms when I arrived and stayed with me until both boys were safely in the minivan, the ones who called 911, the kind lady who checked to make sure we had a vehicle and hadn’t come to the park on the bicycles that were nearby, the sweet gentleman who gave me an apple in case Puck needed something to eat after the seizure, and of course, the firefighters and later EMTs who arrived on the scene and knew what they were doing.
Of course, when we headed out this morning we decided we didn’t need the wagon or the monkey backpacks since we were both going to be there. Fortunately, in exchange for all the fussiness and contrariness endured yesterday, Dom and Alex were on their very best sweet behavior today–not resisting holding hands, not fussing, not sitting down and refusing to walk. No, they were super-cooperative as we made our way to the hospital emergency room, and they sat and ate their snack while we sat with Puck and I tried to contact friends who might be able to watch them.
Again, I feel so fortunate. One set of our friends and their son agreed to meet me at our house and watch Dom and Alex in the afternoon while I would head back to the hospital. Another of our friends arrived at the hospital at the perfect time to help me walk the boys back to the minivan and get them belted in for the ride home. Then, he and his wife also came to our house to help with the boys. It was such a huge relief to leave our boys in the care of four amazing friends and with a playmate too. Alex and Dom had missed their nap again today, but they were happily playing when I headed back out the door.
In their tests and scans, the hospital did not find any particular cause for the seizure. They have started Puck on anti-seizure medications and prohibited him from driving until cleared by another doctor. We’ll have another visit or two with doctors and hopefully no more seizures. Puck was utterly exhausted by the time we were able to head home.
Home Again
We arrived home to find Dom and Alex happily eating dinner and the house smelling delicious thanks to a low-carb, gluten-free lasagna that one of our friends had made for us. They agreed to stay awhile longer so Puck could go to sleep and I could head to a 24-hour pharmacy, and I came home to find our boys in their PJs with their diapers changed and chatting happily away. Our friends headed home but made sure we knew we could call them if Puck had any more problems tonight or in the coming days. (We are so thankful.) Dom and Alex were in a great mood all through our bedtime ritual even though I was getting them to bed at least an hour later than normal. They cooperated with brushing their teeth, put their toys down even before I asked them to, and were ready to crawl into my lap for a book and their songs. Alex cried briefly after being put in his crib but settled down before I even made it back to sit with them after going out of the room to fetch my phone. I checked on Puck to make sure he was fine in bed, and he was sleeping peacefully. Then, I sat down and enjoyed two heaping bowls of the delicious and hearty lasagna–relishing every bite.
I am so very grateful today. The thought of every single act of kindness by strangers, friends, and emergency/hospital staff brings tears to my eyes. All of those people who came together to help Puck, keep Alex safe, and reach (and help) me warm my heart. I wish I knew who they were and could tell them how much their kindness was appreciated. (I did give Fernando several hugs and thank him profusely for holding onto Alex for me and helping me with the boys.) Our dear friends dropping their plans for the day and selflessly coming to our aid made such a huge difference and was such a generous act. I got in touch with them right as the boys were starting to get restless, and it meant so much to know that they were safe and being well cared for while I was at the hospital. This afternoon was full of stress, but it was also a day to count my blessings. I’m teary-eyed even now just thinking about it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
