On Tuesday Jan 29 I was watching TV waiting for the time to go pick up Ryker and Avynlea from school when I suddenly got the hankering for a yummy soda from Fast Eddys. So I pulled on my rubber soled clog slippers and headed out. As I was paying for my delicious drink I got a phone call which turned out to be from Rykers teacher. She told me that Ryker had a seizure and that I needed to get to the school. So I rushed over and ran to his classroom. Not really panicking but plenty worried. When I got there I found Ryker on the floor awake and aware with his teacher and the school nurse huddled over him. The school Principal was on the phone in the corner.
What happened was the kids were lined up to head out the doors to go home. Ryker was standing at the back of the line next to his teacher. She saw him stiffen up on one side and start to shake really bad on the other. She was able to catch him before he fell and quickly laid him down. She said one side of his face was droopy and that after he stopped shaking she could see that he was trying to tell her something. He was having difficulties talking and so he made the motion that he wanted something to write with. Pretty quickly he got his speech back and the first thing he said was "what about my sister". He always meets Avynlea at the flagpole before walking out together to meet me. Someone was dispatched to get his sister so that by the time I got there she was hanging out with her teacher in her room. I thought it was so sweet and so telling of Rykers personality that his first words were not of concern for himself but for his sister. He was worried that she would be scared and worried if he didn't show up.
Shortly after I got there the fire department arrived and then the paramedics. Ryker was really coherent and looking much better so the told me that he needed to go to the hospital to be checked out but since he was looking OK that I could drive him in. I had already called Kefford to tell him what was happening and he left work and arrived right as we were loading Ryker into the car. Kefford took Avynlea home and I took Ryker to the emergency room.
What happened next was blood taken to be tested and a CT scan of his head. After a couple hours of waiting and extreme boredom we got the results back and they were normal. The DR. said he talked to a Pediatric Neurologist and he said that is sounded like he had Benign epilepsy. Typically in a seizure the victim loses control of his body and blanks out. Ryker did not have either happen, he was completely aware throughout the entire thing. So we were released with the order to get an EEG done and then meet with the Pediatric Neurologist.
I did not take a picture of it but I noticed that the bed he was on in the hospital had a logo or name brand on it that had the first letter almost completely off but the remaining letters said RYKER. Not even lying!
On February 1 I took Ryker in to get his EEG done. He had to be sleep deprived, so we put him to bed around 11 pm and woke him up around 4:30-5:00 am. He also had to have clean hair and have eaten a good meal. Check and check.
The nurse put on cartoons for him and then got to work puttng thingiemabobs all over his head.
Next came the wires and suction cup tester thingies.
he looks so science fiction
She turned off the lights and left the room with instructions for him to shut his eyes and relax. After a while she came back in, handed him a pinwheel and told him to blow it for three minutes. After that test she had him shut his eyes while a strobe light went off in his face. Finally we were done and she came in to remove everything and try to wipe him clean.
This is what he looked like after the "cleaning". Luckily his jacket had a hood for him to wear since I had some errands to run.
As of now we are still waiting for the Neurologist to call and make an appointment. Ryker has not had another episode since and we are hoping that he won't ever have another one. The only side effects are some extreme moments of anxiety from Ryker. Poor kid is super nervous that this will lead to more terrible things and has really struggled. His first day back at school was fine and was even fine the first week back at school. But the next week I got a call that he had a fever on monday so I brought him home. The next day he was better so I sent him to school and then got repeated calls from the nurse that he kept coming to her office not feeling well and talking about how scared he is. I even got a call from the counselor because he went to talk to her..which I suggested. I would not let him come home though because i knew he was physically fine and did not want this to turn into a habit. Since then I have not gotten any calls but I know he is still struggling. Hopefully this will pass and I can help him get through it.