Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Scary Situation


For the last couple of weeks the flu has been going through our house.
First it was a stomach flu that everyone but my husband got hit with.
This time it is a fever and sore throat flu and since Friday 4 out of the 6 children has come down with it. It seems easier on the body because there is no vomiting but it is just the opposite. These poor little ones have not an ounce of life in them and it is lasting 3-4 days.

Last night was the scariest thing I think as a parent I have ever had to deal with....a little background information...I spent many years working with people with developmental and psychological disabilities. Here is what happened....

I was sleeping in the bedroom with my son (7) and daughter (5) who were both sick. At 2:30 am they were up, went to the bathroom, I got them each a drink of water and gave them a dose of Tylenol. They both fell asleep quickly again.
From a sound sleep at 4am, I was awoke with my daughter screaming and crying uncontrollably. She sat up and started scratching at the wall while still screaming. I tried to get her to stop by calling her name and shaking her shoulder, thinking she was sleeping, . She did not respond to this so I turned on the light and again called her name, at this point I realized she had her eyes open. Her brother tried calling her and told her to stop....still no response. Then suddenly she stopped, looked straight into my eyes with a glazed over look, almost like she was starring through me and said "I want you Mommy!" I took her in my arms and cuddled her but again she started crying and scrambled out of my arms...she went face to face with her brother and grabbed him by the shoulders and looked at him.
Again she turned to me and said, "I want you Mommy!". By now I was scared, I sent my son to get their Dad, when my husband came into the room my daughter just starred at him again, like she had to me. Then he reached for her and she climbed into his arms. I thought , Oh good it is over! but then she started asking us silly questions like, "Is the wood in the bathroom yet?". After a few minutes of the questions and her speech trailing off in mid sentence, she stopped acting strange and she asked to go back to sleep...I slept with her and before allowing her to go to sleep I spent a good long time praying for her and then conversing with her about events that are coming up for us and she was totally fine and coherent.

That is a very long story and I don't know if it came across as terrifying as it was to me as a Mom to see a child of mine obviously in some kind of hallucinogenic state but this experience has left me a different kind of woman.

I have cried today just thinking about how precious my children really are and being truly thankful for there overall good health.

Today she does not remember all the events that happen last night but also does not seem to be effected by what happen....for this I am thankful but fearful for tonight!!!

If this is jumbled and not making much sense, I apologize, I am still trying to process it all myself!

16 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness!! That sounds very frightening. I'm glad she is okay and I hope it doesn't happen again. Prayer is wonderful, uh?

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  2. Oh Christine...I completely understand. If you've read my blog lately, you might already know that I've just been through this same thing with my family. My two daughters and husband had this same flu...from start to finish was 13 days. My oldest daughter had terrifying dreams that left her shaken.

    I don't think people understand how hard it is when your family gets sick like this. It takes such a toll on everyone...including the ones taking care of everyone. I'll be praying for you and your precious family.

    Blessings and a big hug!

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  3. I can understand why you would be frightened! That would definitely be a scary situation to be in with your child! I hope your family gets past this illness quickly and there are not any more episodes like that again. I'll be praying for you.

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  4. I wonder if she was dehydrated and hallucinating. Have her drink some gatorade. That is soo scary. God bless

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  5. I'm so sorry you had to go through that! I'll keep your family in my prayers and I hope that everyone is back to normal soon.

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  6. My suggestion: Take your daughter to a neurologist. The silly questions could be indicative of a more serious problem.

    My son was diagnosed last year with a pilocytic astrocytoma. A non malignant brain tumor.

    I'm not normally a nervous nellie about kids and doctors. We treat lots of illnesses at home with various conventional and homeopathic remedies.

    I hope she feels better today.

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  7. How scary! Maybe they had a high fever?

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  8. My goodness! Scary indeed. I hope all is well now. ((hugs))

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  9. It came across as terrifying! I'm sooo glad that she seems okay today.

    I once had a nightmare about one of my children, and I was so disturbed for that child, I prayed for what felt like hours for him after I woke up in the middle of the night. The next day, I fasted for the entire day for my children.

    Hope you all are on the mend now!

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  10. Oh, Christine, how scary! I hope she is fine now.

    I can only imagine...

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  11. Christine,
    I have been missing your posts. I hope all is well. Be encouraged my friend!

    Blessings!

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  12. Christine, How awful. I am so sorry. That does indeed sound very scary. I hope that everyone is better now. I remember when my 9 year old son was a baby he would sometimes wake up at night screaming. I would run to him and gather him up but he was neither awake nor asleep. His eyes would be all glassed over and he would not be coherent at all. I would try to sooth him but there was nothing I could do really except hold him. He was just a baby, not even one at the time. He eventually would settle down and go back to sleep. It was very scary and bizarre and it did not happen very often but whenever it did it just chilled my blood and scared me so bad. I don't know what caused it and he is fine now. I hope all is well with you. <3

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  13. Very scary! My daughter used to have regular night terrors and honestly, it was like she was possessed. She grew out of them. I bet is was her fever...I've hallucinated with a fever before. My family out is out sick this week too...oh, the joys of parenting.

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  14. Christine...I was thinking about you today and hoping you're okay. I do hope you decide to start blogging again. Please let us know how you are.

    Be blessed!!!

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  15. Christine... are you there? Haven't heard from you in forever! Hope all is well.

    ~Margene

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  16. O my goodness I so understand this.. they are called night terrors. Don't know if you have researched this at all or not..but my kids have them... all of them. They seem to have outgrown them for the most part, but as little children under 8, they had them when they were over tired, sick, and sometimes when they were growing.

    They are very scary... so sorry.
    But after awhile you realize that they are going to be ok, and to just ride them out. From what I have read, the worst thing to do is try to wake them up.. or worse discipline them. God, I don't know what parent would discipline their kids for that..but anyways..

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