Photos Courtesy of Amy
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Caroline's First Birthday
Caroline's birthday was actually June 7th, but I haven't actually posted any of her party pictures. We had a swimming party at my grandparents' house which was really special to me because I have pictures of my own early birthday parties at the same house. Enjoy the pictures.
This is Caroline chillin' with her pal Jack in the pool
Caroline was so happy that her new pal Wyatt could come to the party. We loved seeing you guys!
I decided to do cupcakes for Caroline's party instead of a cake. As you can see, we chose citrus colors for her party.
Here she is totally fascinated by the wrapping instead of the present itself.
Caroline is checking out her new piano courtesy of Frank's parents.
Caroline loved her cupcake! She was quite a mess when it was all over.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Seizure Info
Hey everyone, I found this info on WebMD and it is pretty much what we experienced with Caroline. Before all of this happened I was not very aware of what a febrile seizure was, but I wanted to pass along the information. What was most surprising to me was that seizures are a result of how fast a fever climbs not how high it gets. I hope this information is helpful.
Fever Seizures - Topic Overview
Fever seizures (sometimes called fever convulsions) are uncontrolled muscle spasms that can occur in children who have a rapid increase in body temperature. You may not even know your child has a fever. The rapid increase in body temperature in a short period of time is the cause of the fever seizure. Once a fever has reached a high temperature, the risk of a seizure is probably over. Most children who have a fever seizure have temperatures above 102F.
Fever seizures can be frightening but they are not usually harmful to the child and do not cause long-term problems, such as brain damage, mental retardation, or learning problems.
Fever seizures affect 2% to 4% of children. About 30% of children who have a fever seizure will have another one, usually within a year of the first seizure. These seizures are not a form of epilepsy.
A child who is having a seizure often loses consciousness and shakes, moving his or her arms and legs on both sides of the body. The child's eyes may roll back. The child may stop breathing for a few seconds and might also vomit, urinate, or pass stools. It is important to protect the child from injury during a seizure.
Fever seizures usually last 1 to 3 minutes. After the seizure, the child may be sleepy. You can let the child sleep, but check the child frequently for changes in color or breathing, or twitching arms or legs. The child also may seem confused after the seizure, but normal behavior and activity level should return within 60 minutes of the seizure.
A seizure is more likely to have been caused by a fever if the seizure occurred within 24 hours of the start of a fever. Fever seizures usually affect the whole body, not just one side. Most children have never had a fever seizure before and they also do not have other nervous system (neurologic) problems.
Review the Emergencies and Check Your Symptoms sections to determine if and when your child needs to see a health professional.
Fever Seizures - Topic Overview
Fever seizures (sometimes called fever convulsions) are uncontrolled muscle spasms that can occur in children who have a rapid increase in body temperature. You may not even know your child has a fever. The rapid increase in body temperature in a short period of time is the cause of the fever seizure. Once a fever has reached a high temperature, the risk of a seizure is probably over. Most children who have a fever seizure have temperatures above 102F.
Fever seizures can be frightening but they are not usually harmful to the child and do not cause long-term problems, such as brain damage, mental retardation, or learning problems.
Fever seizures affect 2% to 4% of children. About 30% of children who have a fever seizure will have another one, usually within a year of the first seizure. These seizures are not a form of epilepsy.
A child who is having a seizure often loses consciousness and shakes, moving his or her arms and legs on both sides of the body. The child's eyes may roll back. The child may stop breathing for a few seconds and might also vomit, urinate, or pass stools. It is important to protect the child from injury during a seizure.
Fever seizures usually last 1 to 3 minutes. After the seizure, the child may be sleepy. You can let the child sleep, but check the child frequently for changes in color or breathing, or twitching arms or legs. The child also may seem confused after the seizure, but normal behavior and activity level should return within 60 minutes of the seizure.
A seizure is more likely to have been caused by a fever if the seizure occurred within 24 hours of the start of a fever. Fever seizures usually affect the whole body, not just one side. Most children have never had a fever seizure before and they also do not have other nervous system (neurologic) problems.
Review the Emergencies and Check Your Symptoms sections to determine if and when your child needs to see a health professional.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Our Brave Little Girl--Sorry Long Post
Some of you may have already heard about our very scary day with Caroline, but for those that have not let me share with you our last few days. Caroline began running a fever on Sunday, and it continued through Monday. Her fever was peaking at about 101.9, and she had no other symptoms. Needless to say, we weren't terribly concerned. Monday she woke up from her afternoon nap, and her lips were a little purple as were her finger nails. At that point, I thought we might as well take her to the doctor to check for an ear infection or a UTI.
The doctor examined her, and all the normal places to see an infection were clear, so he asked us to come by the next morning so they could get urine to test for an infection. We left thinking everything was okay at that point.
Not even ten minutes later, I turned around in the car to check on Caroline, and her lips were dark purple and she wasn't breathing. We pulled over immediately and realized she was having a seizure. She was conscious but unresponsive. We rushed to the emergency room where I absolutely lost all composure with the woman at the front desk. Through my gushing tears, I explained what had happened and a nurse came to see us right away.
We sat in the exam room and watched helplessly as the nurses put an IV in Caroline's arm, attached a bunch of sensors, and tried unsuccessfully to put in a catheter. Caroline was completely hysterical which, for those of you who know her, is so uncharacteristic of her. When we arrived at the ER her normal heart rate of about 130 had climbed to about 220. This was very scary for us because our medical expertise comes from the show House.
Afterall of the monitoring, they determined that Caroline had a febrile seizure which is basically a fever-induced seizure. We left the hospital at about 9:30pm (we had been there since 5:30), and Caroline's temperature had gone down. We went to bed when we got home only to wake up to Caroline crying at 1am. We took her temperature, and it was 103.1. As I took her temperature, she began throwing up. We immediately went back to the ER to be on the safe side. When we arrived they took her temperature, and it was now at 105.7. Thankfully, she did not have another seizure. They monitored her and gave her medicine to reduce the fever, and we left at 3am.
We are still waiting on results from her lab work to tell us if she has a bacterial infection or just a plain old virus. Unfortunately, if it is a virus there is nothing we can do but manage the fever. The pediatrician told us that her seizure was completely related to the fever and in no way means that she will have problems with seizures in the future. We just know now that her threshold for fever is low.
This experience showed us so much how in control God is of the details. Thanks to the generosity of my sister and brother-in-law, we had a forward facing car seat for Caroline. I wouldn't have been able to see her otherwise. Another detail that did not escape my attention was the fact that Frank was there with me. I have been so frustrated lately about the fact that we only have one car, and I often am left alone without a car. If Frank hadn't come home to take me and Caroline to the doctor's office, I would have been alone when all of this happened. God is in complete control of our lives. Frank and I are so thankful to the Lord that what happened was not more serious. Thank you all of your prayers.
The doctor examined her, and all the normal places to see an infection were clear, so he asked us to come by the next morning so they could get urine to test for an infection. We left thinking everything was okay at that point.
Not even ten minutes later, I turned around in the car to check on Caroline, and her lips were dark purple and she wasn't breathing. We pulled over immediately and realized she was having a seizure. She was conscious but unresponsive. We rushed to the emergency room where I absolutely lost all composure with the woman at the front desk. Through my gushing tears, I explained what had happened and a nurse came to see us right away.
We sat in the exam room and watched helplessly as the nurses put an IV in Caroline's arm, attached a bunch of sensors, and tried unsuccessfully to put in a catheter. Caroline was completely hysterical which, for those of you who know her, is so uncharacteristic of her. When we arrived at the ER her normal heart rate of about 130 had climbed to about 220. This was very scary for us because our medical expertise comes from the show House.
Afterall of the monitoring, they determined that Caroline had a febrile seizure which is basically a fever-induced seizure. We left the hospital at about 9:30pm (we had been there since 5:30), and Caroline's temperature had gone down. We went to bed when we got home only to wake up to Caroline crying at 1am. We took her temperature, and it was 103.1. As I took her temperature, she began throwing up. We immediately went back to the ER to be on the safe side. When we arrived they took her temperature, and it was now at 105.7. Thankfully, she did not have another seizure. They monitored her and gave her medicine to reduce the fever, and we left at 3am.
We are still waiting on results from her lab work to tell us if she has a bacterial infection or just a plain old virus. Unfortunately, if it is a virus there is nothing we can do but manage the fever. The pediatrician told us that her seizure was completely related to the fever and in no way means that she will have problems with seizures in the future. We just know now that her threshold for fever is low.
This experience showed us so much how in control God is of the details. Thanks to the generosity of my sister and brother-in-law, we had a forward facing car seat for Caroline. I wouldn't have been able to see her otherwise. Another detail that did not escape my attention was the fact that Frank was there with me. I have been so frustrated lately about the fact that we only have one car, and I often am left alone without a car. If Frank hadn't come home to take me and Caroline to the doctor's office, I would have been alone when all of this happened. God is in complete control of our lives. Frank and I are so thankful to the Lord that what happened was not more serious. Thank you all of your prayers.
These are some pictures we took at the hospital.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Mario Bros Cake
This weekend my nephew, Nathan, turned 12 years old. To celebrate, I made him a birthday cake with a Mario Bros theme. He loves video games, and I think he really liked the cake. Everything on the cake is made out of fondant which means you can eat the whole thing.
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