Alright

my dears.I'm going to write about what happened to our chick.I apologise to good friends for not e-mailing this to them,I simply don't have the energy for all that writing.Lack of sleep due to maternal anxiety,don't you know !

At 6.00 a.m. on the Sunday morning Oliver started making choking noises,and was sick.Just a little bit.I sat him up,memories of the recent chucking up virus fresh in my mind.He was a little warm.His pulse was racing.I asked if he felt o.k.He said he couldn't see and was very frightened.I asked him to look at me - he turned his head to me,but couldn't look at me.His eyes seemed fixed in an upward,right direction.Rang the G.P.'s cover service,spoke to some doctor in another part of the country who said he wan't too concerned and he could arrange a home visit at 8.00 a.m. W.T.F.!
I rang my friend to come and drive Allan to the hospital as he was still over the limit from the night before - I won't repeat what I said to him to save your blushes ! Then rang the ambulance.By this time the chick's right arm was tense and he was clenching and unclenching his fist.That's his worst affected arm re:the cerebral palsy.He was a bit warm,but still not burning up.I stripped him down to his vest and pants.In the 3 minutes it took the paramedics to arrive I dressed,slapped some make-up on [!],put a bag of necessary stuff together,tried to comfort Oliver and gave Allan hell.I multi-task !
After a few minutes in the ambulance I noticed that we hadn't gone far and asked if we could go faster.They were worried about throwing me about.They didn't recognise what turned out to be a seizure as Oliver was conscious and lucid.I pointed out that I am a very calm person,that I was very concerned and didn't care if I landed on the floor ! Then I noticed that Oliver's left eye wasn't reactive - i.e. the pupil remained dilated.Pointed this out.Suddenly we were clogging it up the road,sirens and lights going.At last.
In A&E they still didn't recognise it as a fit and kept asking about recent head injuries - none.To cut a long story short the on-call paediatrician came down,said ''He's fitting.We need to stop this now.''The seizure had lasted over an hour.Two doses of Diazepam later the fit stopped and the chick was sedated.
The time on the ward,in the high dependancy room,was awful.Drips,monitors going,half-hourly ob.s.Too much like our time in NICU.
Once the chick was awake again we had a bit of trouble getting his temp down.He kept being sick - old blood,apparently from lots of tiny burst stomach ulcers,resulting from the extreme stress of fitting for so long.That's heart wrenching.He didn't fit again,and hasn't since,so I'm hoping it was just an odd form of febrile convulsion.His history does increase his risk of epilepsy.The scarring on the brain that resulted from the grade 4 I.V.H. that is the 'cause' of his cerebral palsy led his doctors to expect him to fit from early infancy.I had hoped we'd got away with it.We're waiting for the results of his E.E.G.,that he had last tuesday.
Throughout all of this he's been very calm and stoical.I like to think that's because I am those things,and because he feels secure,loved and cared for.All very true.
My main source of angst has been school.There was no reason for him not to go to school,once he'd caught up on his sleep.The headmistress really [really !] disappointed me with a panicked,ignorant reaction.We were sent home with a couple of doses of sedative,for rectal administration.Standard in these cases I understand.They're simply a safety net in case a child fits again.She said she felt unable to ask her staff to take the responsibility of recognizing a fit - I went into detail of what to recognize ! - or administering the drug.The fact that the local education authority fund a full time care/teaching assistant for him seems to have escaped her mind ! She excluded him from school !
I am still extremely angry about this.She knows this now ! If she thought I wouldn't call in the big guns - the LEA,his paediatrician,paediactric community nurse etc. she was being very foolish.I got the sedative changed to an oral adminstered one - more complicated as you have to draw up exact doses instead having it all pre-measured.He goes back to school the first day of next term.The headteacher is back-pedaling furiously.Sadly she'll have to regain my trust.
I was able to take him into school for his school xmas party yesterday afternoon,with me in attendance.He wasn't allowed to go to the pantomime with everyone else.
That makes me very angry.

~

ADDED LATER :

Oh dear ! I hadn't intended to paint Allan in a bad light ! I was really mad at him.The stress of the moment.I kept thinking about how much sooner we'd have got to hospital if he could have driven.He had no way of knowing what would happen and I,admittedly sometimes begrudgingly,admit that he needs to go out and have fun.[So do I,but that's another story ! I think women are better at putting their needs to one side.]
By Monday lunchtime Oliver was so very ready to go home.He insisted on being driven around the hospital corridors so he could indulge in his favourite pastime : people watching,a.k.a. being nosey ! Only daddy would do.Poor Allan literally walked miles pushing Oliver's wheelchair.
He is a great father and a very nice man.I wouldn't be able to fight so hard without his support and total backing.
Just thought I'd say !