I got a frantic phone call about 12:30 yesterday afternoon. It was from Mallory's aunt Kristy who is a substitute teacher at Mallory's school. As it happens, she was substituting for Mikyla's teacher yesterday.
Juel! This is Kristy, we need you to come get Mallory, she's here in the nurses office and we think she's fixing to have a seizure!
Me Mouthing to Dippy - Go get Mallory now, in the nurses office! He flew out the door immediately to get her.
Kristy, she's not had a seizure in over a year, are you sure? What happened?
She's laying here on her side on the cot, her eyes are glazed and she's not answering anyone. They called me in here because she wasn't responding to the nurse and they thought if I told her I love her that she'd respond to me!
Is she responding?
No! She's just staring, we have a cold rag on her head, her face is flushed, but she's just in a daze!
I don't know unless I see her, Dippy's on his way now, he should be there in just a minute. She wasn't hit in the head by anything was she?
No, we asked that. She's not responding to anything.. just in a daze, we thought we better call you because the nurse never dealt with a seizure before. The gym teacher said she was just standing in the gym staring, not responding so he took her to the nurses office.
Kristy could you tell if she was putting on? Joel's here, she knew we were going to see the new baby, maybe she took it in her head to play sick to get to come home? I was hoping against hope, praying that's what it was, I so want Mallory off the Depakote because in the long run it can hurt her liver.. I want desperately to have the seizures behind her.. she's done so well up until this...
Did she have the red rings around her eyes?
No, I don't think she was putting on, the nurse said her sister has seizures and she thinks Mal's getting ready to have a Grand Mal and she'd rather Mal do that at home than there at school. She doesn't have red rings around her eyes though...
My mind kicked around what she'd just said a few moment's earlier about the nurse having not seen a seizure before and didn't want to, to that the nurse's sister has them ... Denial, denial, my mind was looking for anything to grasp onto to tell me that they were just mistaken, Mal's not having seizures again.. I knew tho my wires were probably crossed.. What I just heard on the phone was probably wasn't what Kristy was saying to me at all..
Alright, Dippy should be there in just a minute.
Ok good bye.
Good bye.
Dippy got back home with Mallory, she was fine, in fact I was cooking eggs and pancakes before Kristy's call, so I went ahead and made Mallory 2 eggs (fried juicy, that's how she likes them) and she sat down, chattering about school while she ate. I kept watching her, she just didn't seem post seizureish to me.
Dippy, was she responding when you got there?
Yep, she sat up, said hello to me, took my hand and we left to go sign her out.
Did she have a seizure?
I don't think so, I think she was just running in gym and got too hot, flushed...
I talked to mom for a few minutes, told her what happened, and she was as incredulous as I was.. Kristy doesn't really know Mallory, she sees her 3 or 4 times a year, maybe she just got scared... Yep, maybe Mom, I don't know what to think. She doesnt' have any of the signs that she's had or going to have a seizure, no red rings around her eyes, nothing's 'fizzling', she's not complaining of sore achy muscles, no crying, no lethargy, she's not sleepy, nothing...
Well, question her, ask her if she knows what happened...
We hung up and the phone rang again. It was Mallory's other grandmom.
Kristy called me but we're out of town, I can't come to Mallory, is she alright?!
Yes, she's eaten, she's playing now, there's no sign at all that she's had a seizure, we think she just got too hot in the gym...
I bet she had a Petite Mal seizure.. sounds like it because she was just staring, nonresponsive...
I don't know, Dianne, I've never seen a Petite Mal seizure on her, just the Grand Mal..
I'VE SEEN THEM, she had TWO at my house!!
Oh, well she's probably had them here too then but I just didn't notice or know what I was looking at. She stares but I say Mallory stop that and she stops and giggles...
Kristy said Mallory was in gym and just started staring, wouldn't respond to the gym teacher so he took her to the nurse, she wouldn't respond for her so the nurse called for Kristy, thought that if Kristy told her she loved her Mallory would respond to that, but Mallory just stared, she was dazed and non responsive to everyone.
Well, she seems fine now, I'll watch her, and if anything happens I'll call you...
It was just so odd.. Mom was right, it was time to question Mallory.
Honey do you remember what happened to you today?
Yep, I was running in gym, playing and I got hot.
Did you have a seizure, or feel like you were going to have one?
No, I just got hot and started sweating. We went to get some water and I told Ms. Gray (Not my teacher Ms. Gray but the other Ms. Gray) that I didn't feel good.
Do you remember how you got to the nurses office?
Yeah, Ms. Gray took me.
Mallory, when the nurse was trying to talk to you, did you talk back to her?
Insert a few sneaky giggles here.
No. I didn't talk back to her.
Why not Mallory? You heard her?
Yeah, but I was scarin' her. It was fun. She looked real scared. So I didn't say anything to her.
You didn't answer her on purpose? To scare her?
Yeah, I'm sorry, but it was funny. More giggles, eyes lowered though, she was a tad ashamed.
Mallory, honey, they thought you were having a seizure, that wasn't funny, it scared them. You are going to be able to get off that medicine in one more month, but not if you have a seizure.. you can't pretend just to scare people.
I'm sorry Mammy, it was just funny.
Well did you hear Kristy when she came to say she loved you?
Yeah.
You didn't answer her either?
No, I was scarin' her too.
Oh Mallory, that wasn't nice. Don't do that again.
Later, we went to pick up Mikyla from cheerleading practice. The gym teacher was in the parking lot and so Dips went to ask him what happened with Mallory, if she'd truly been unresponsive with him. He said no, she was just flushed and told Ms. Gray she didn't feel well so he told Ms. Gray to take her to the nurse's office. The rest, well, since Mal was on the money with the gym teacher, I choose to take her word for it that she was just 'scaring' the nurse and Kristy. I hate that she did that to them, but I'm sure glad she's alright.
I watched her all evening, truly she was acting fine.. but again, I'm afraid, what if.. just in case.. oh Lord please, don't let that be happening again... All evening she ate, ran, played, and faught with the other kids, just like always. No sleepy seconds, no empty looking eyes, she studied for the spelling bee and did great. I just don't know what happened, but Thank God she is okay. She's at school right now, and no calls, so I guess today is going well..
She's a sight.. just.. scaring them cuz it was funny. Egads.
Mom was a volunteer teacher's aid for Mikyla in first grade, until Papaw came to live with her. She's thinking now about going back for Mallory. Just to watch and be sure Mal's doing alright. I sure hope she does.. that would be wonderful! I told Sarah that Mom might go back and she was tickled to death.
*crosses her fingers*
Goooo Mom!!
Posted by juel at October 9, 2007 02:01 PM