Saturday, October 29, 2011
Pumpkin Patch 2011
Jacob is feeling much better now so we decided to take the boys to the pumpkin patch at a local Pearland Church this morning. The boys had fun picking out pumpkins, rolling them around on the wagon and posing for photos. It was about the limit of exertion that Tony and I could handle after a very stressful week.
Jacob's Pre-Halloween Scare
Last Saturday Jacob had a slight fever. It didn't seem unusual. We thought he might be teething because he wasn't acting any differently than normal. We decided that I would stay home with Jacob while Matthew went to the Fire Festival at the Houston Fire Museum with Tony. After they got home, I was holding Jacob and he jerked his arms up uncontrollably. He had a febrile seizure. I knew it was a seizure because Matthew had one last year. With Matthew it happened while he was eating and it happened from the corner of my eye. I thought Matthew was choking. I did everything in my power to clear his airway. When he seemed to gain consciousness I called 911 and we took the ambulance to Texas Children's Hospital. After describing what happened to the triage nurse, she said it sounded like a febrile seizure.
Back to Jacob--Tony called 911 and we had an ambulance at our door almost immediately. I knew to make sure Jacob was breathing and I held cold wet towels against his head to try to reduce his fever. Jacob was stable resting on my chest while the paramedics rolled us away on the gurney into the ambulance. Before we went to Texas Children's hospital the paramedics took his temperature and it was 103. They gave him a dose of Tylenol and his fever was reduced by the time he got to the hospital.
The Emergency Room appeared to be quite busy but we quickly got a room for Jacob and the doctor checked his vitals and then his throat. He was quickly diagnosed with Herpangina. This is a common illness in young children and involves a sore throat. The doctor explained that the illness is not life threatening but that the fever spike seemed to cause a febrile seizure. By the time we left the hospital about 3 hours later at 6:30PM, Jacob was acting normal and we had been instructed to give him alternating doses of children's Tylenol and Ibuprofen every 3 hours. The doctor also said that febrile seizures happen due to a quick rise in fever instead of just a high fever itself.
That night Jacob had a slight fever but we knew with the medications that he would have to ride out this illness for the next few days. At 3:30 AM the next morning Jacob yelled (it sounded like the yell of an adult) and he had another fever induced seizure. We called the ER doctor and they said to make sure his airway was clear and that he was breathing and if it lasted less than 5 minutes that we would not need to go to the Emergency Room. Similarly to the first seizure Jacob was extremely tired afterward and then acted normally after sleeping for about 3 hours. Obviously, Tony and I did not go back to sleep because we were on fever alert until around 8AM.
I originally started this blog to report fun happenings of Matthew and Jacob, however, I decided to record these occurrences with this illness because I know many friends and family members have been worried. I also want to remember some details. It is a week since Jacob's seizure and he is now back to normal. He is over his Herpangina and he no longer has a fever. We had him home with us until Friday. He went to daycare after he had been fever free without the aid of medicine for 48 hours.
The doctor said that febrile seizures do not mean that Jacob (or Matthew for that matter) will have more of these in the future or that he has epilepsy. Fortunately, the ER doctor's prognosis was correct--that he would be over the fever within 3-5 days and then he would be back to normal.
Back to Jacob--Tony called 911 and we had an ambulance at our door almost immediately. I knew to make sure Jacob was breathing and I held cold wet towels against his head to try to reduce his fever. Jacob was stable resting on my chest while the paramedics rolled us away on the gurney into the ambulance. Before we went to Texas Children's hospital the paramedics took his temperature and it was 103. They gave him a dose of Tylenol and his fever was reduced by the time he got to the hospital.
The Emergency Room appeared to be quite busy but we quickly got a room for Jacob and the doctor checked his vitals and then his throat. He was quickly diagnosed with Herpangina. This is a common illness in young children and involves a sore throat. The doctor explained that the illness is not life threatening but that the fever spike seemed to cause a febrile seizure. By the time we left the hospital about 3 hours later at 6:30PM, Jacob was acting normal and we had been instructed to give him alternating doses of children's Tylenol and Ibuprofen every 3 hours. The doctor also said that febrile seizures happen due to a quick rise in fever instead of just a high fever itself.
That night Jacob had a slight fever but we knew with the medications that he would have to ride out this illness for the next few days. At 3:30 AM the next morning Jacob yelled (it sounded like the yell of an adult) and he had another fever induced seizure. We called the ER doctor and they said to make sure his airway was clear and that he was breathing and if it lasted less than 5 minutes that we would not need to go to the Emergency Room. Similarly to the first seizure Jacob was extremely tired afterward and then acted normally after sleeping for about 3 hours. Obviously, Tony and I did not go back to sleep because we were on fever alert until around 8AM.
I originally started this blog to report fun happenings of Matthew and Jacob, however, I decided to record these occurrences with this illness because I know many friends and family members have been worried. I also want to remember some details. It is a week since Jacob's seizure and he is now back to normal. He is over his Herpangina and he no longer has a fever. We had him home with us until Friday. He went to daycare after he had been fever free without the aid of medicine for 48 hours.
The doctor said that febrile seizures do not mean that Jacob (or Matthew for that matter) will have more of these in the future or that he has epilepsy. Fortunately, the ER doctor's prognosis was correct--that he would be over the fever within 3-5 days and then he would be back to normal.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Wings Over Houston-Matt & Jake's First Airshow
Today we went to the Wings Over Houston Airshow. Matthew had a great time! So did Jacob. The pilots put on a great show including the re-enactment of Pearl Harbor and the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and many other acrobatic shows. Of course Matthew enjoyed the Jump Jumps on the grounds too but we tried to take his focus off of this part. We brought some hearing protection because I knew that when the fighter jets broke the sound barrier that even my hearing impaired boys might find the noise unbearable. I am glad we brought them. There were no complaints from them about the noise and I saw several other kids crying when the jets' afterburners kicked in.
Ever since Uncle Tone came to visit in August attending the airshow was an imperative for Matthew. He knows that his uncle flies planes for the Navy and Matthew took pride in knowing that as he saw the show and the planes on display on the grounds. Of course his daddy also made sure he saw NASA's Super Guppy, the "megamind" plane.
Ever since Uncle Tone came to visit in August attending the airshow was an imperative for Matthew. He knows that his uncle flies planes for the Navy and Matthew took pride in knowing that as he saw the show and the planes on display on the grounds. Of course his daddy also made sure he saw NASA's Super Guppy, the "megamind" plane.
Zoo Boo and Visiting Cousin Lauren's Fundraiser
We had a full weekend. Friday night we took the boys to the Italian Festival... no photos because it was too dark but we had a great time.. Matthew did some hamster ball walking on water and Jacob danced to Italian music. Of course we ate meatballs and cannolis so I was happy too.
On Saturday we went to a Zoo Event put on by IBM. Matthew showed his daddy the new African Forest exhibit with lots of monkeys, giraffes, rhinos, and drums??
We also saw the lions. Jonathon the male lion was taking a nap while the lioness was watching over the area. I pointed out to Matthew that the Mama Lion has to keep an eye on the place while the Daddy lion takes a nap. I think Tony would have been more offended if it wasn't true.
Afterwards we stopped by the Bass Pro Shop (Outdoorworld) where Uncle Paul was making sausages for a fundraiser for Cousin Lauren's softball team, the Redhots. We have yet to see one of her games but I have seen her pitch during practice and she is VERY Fast.. Everyone who has seen her play agrees that she is an awesome pitcher.
On Saturday we went to a Zoo Event put on by IBM. Matthew showed his daddy the new African Forest exhibit with lots of monkeys, giraffes, rhinos, and drums??
We also saw the lions. Jonathon the male lion was taking a nap while the lioness was watching over the area. I pointed out to Matthew that the Mama Lion has to keep an eye on the place while the Daddy lion takes a nap. I think Tony would have been more offended if it wasn't true.
Afterwards we stopped by the Bass Pro Shop (Outdoorworld) where Uncle Paul was making sausages for a fundraiser for Cousin Lauren's softball team, the Redhots. We have yet to see one of her games but I have seen her pitch during practice and she is VERY Fast.. Everyone who has seen her play agrees that she is an awesome pitcher.
Monday, October 10, 2011
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