October, 2011, Elisabeth's first seizure. Or, the first seizure I saw

My fifth baby was 2 weeks old.  A gorgeous, perfect little bundle of cuteness.  Just like the others before him.  We were all thrilled.  And tired.  And the kids were stir-crazy.

So, my two girls, ages 9 and 6, were so excited when they realized it was neighborhood yard-sale day.  That day is one of the highlights of their year.  Really.  They would fill up their little purses with the change they collected from the counter, and go to the neighbor's down the street, who actually had the time and patience to organize their cast-offs, price, and sell them.

These smart, young neighbors had been up since 5:30 am, bartering and banking.  We managed to get out of the door about 11:00 am.  By that time, most of the good stuff was gone, the neighbors were closing up shop, and ready to donate whatever was left.

The sun was also almost right overhead, beating down the Houston heat.

Well, the girls were charming their way into lots of jewelry for a quarter, when I noticed something strange.

My older girl, Elisabeth, was doing something strange with her mouth.  Gulping and swallowing.  Over and over, but not moving anything else.  I got right in front of her.  "are you OK?  Honey? Can you hear me? Are you OK??"

She wasn't there.  Her blank eyes were staring straight ahead, while she kept swallowing.

I can see it like it was yesterday.  All of the sudden, she looked at me, and turned and ran to a chair.

"are you OK, sweetie??"

"um, a purse.  a purse."

"What honey?  A purse?  Are you OK?"

"I'm OK.  I couldn't talk for a minute. Just like last week, when I couldn't talk."

That was the first seizure I saw.

My mom was at the house, helping with the new baby.  I rushed my beautiful girl home.

"It was probably just the sun.  She was hot and dehydrated.  It was probably nothing."  We both said that to each other all day, while I felt a knot in my stomach get bigger.   It was something.  I started internet surfing.  Staring spell seizures.  Petit mal seizures.  Most kids start them for no reason and most kids outgrow them.

She had her first seizure appointment that next week.