6 Minutes

Our day began as all Saturdays do: kids get up at the crack of dawn and Derek and I pry ourselves out of bed, barely functioning. Luckily today, I decided it would be a good morning to clean the carpets and then go outside to plant flowers and do some yard work.

Around 8:00, I began some laundry and steam cleaning the living room carpet. Derek was starting breakfast for the kiddos and it seemed like a typical morning. Until it wasn’t.

I take steam cleaning very seriously, so I was concentrating on making sure I was getting every spot of the rug. Roslynn was on the couch watching The Phantom of the Opera: Live at Royal Albert Hall for the 500th time and Derek was still in the kitchen, starting pancakes for the kids. When I run the vacuum or steam cleaner, Greyson is typically running around and stimming on the sounds of the machine, but this time he wasn’t. I looked around and noticed Duke (the dog we got to train as a service dog but then definitely was too hyper for that) was laying on the dining room floor nudging Greyson with his nose.

Duke typically is not one to be all over the kids, so I thought it was strange that he was so close to G. I took a closer look and noticed that Greyson was face-down on the dining room floor, convulsing and unresponsive. I turned him on his back and noticed he was foaming from his mouth pretty heavily, so I gently rolled him on his side and made sure the area was safe. THANK YOU WELLSPAN FOR FORCING CPR AND FIRST AID TRAINING ON ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF! I knew what to do and felt confident in the situation because of the training I have received through work.

I yelled and got Derek’s attention and told him to call 911 immediately. I noticed that Greyson’s lips, hands and feet were starting to turn blue, so I checked for a pulse and breathing. I found a heartbeat, but no breathing, so I gave him an emergency breath, like I learned in CPR class. After a breath, I checked his chest again and he was still not breathing. I gave another and he finally gasped for air. This was all happening while he was still stiff and convulsing. I administered his emergency seizure medicine, as I was shown how to do when we first were prescribed the medicine in March 2018. After a minute, the convulsions stopped.

Derek gave the 911 operator our address and explained the situation, while I tended to Greyson, who was still not responsive. From the time the seizure started until the ambulance arrived, it was a total of 6 minutes. The longest 6 minutes of our lives.

Once the paramedics came inside, they took over. They checked his vitals and I informed them of the situation and what exactly happened, including a list of his prescriptions. Derek hopped in the ambulance and rode to the emergency room with Greyson. I grabbed his medicine, medical records and threw some shoes on. I had called my parents to let them know what was happening and that I needed them to watch Roslynn so we didn’t have to take her to the ER too.

Greyson woke up in the ambulance as soon as it was turning into the LGH parking lot and was drowsy and annoyed that people were bugging him. They took him back to a room and I met up with them about 15 minutes later.

The next two hours were a whole lot of waiting. They got him some juice, which he was happy with, and he fell back asleep. The doctor came in and informed us that Greyson has a break-through seizure, which is common in children with epileptic brain activity. The type of seizure he specifically had was a Tonic-Clonic Grand meal seizure, which included tense muscles and convulsions. The entire episode lasted about 10 minutes and because of our CPR and First-aid training, we were able to control the situation and get him the help he needed.

Greyson is ok. Derek and I were shaken up, obviously because he has never stopped breathing like that. The next 48-hours will be a lot of monitoring, but he should be back to his normal self once his diazepam wears off.

The most important thing I have learned from this situation, is that first aid and cpr training seems repetitive and boring, but it really can come in handy when you least expect it. I am extremely grateful I work in the medical field, because otherwise, I would have had no idea how to handle this situation.

And for Duke…..he will get an extra large bone tonight after his dinner. I might even let him sleep in my bed tonight, too. 🐶❤️