*Toddler Seizure PSA* - Fun weekend at the Circus

We went to the Ringling Bros circus in Philly on Saturday. Ethan, my 21-month-old had a slight fever early that morning (1 AM) and was up for awhile, so was kinda sleepy on my lap. The show started at 11:00 and around 11:30, there was a bang from one of the clown acts. He nearly jumped out of my arms and started convulsing. I yelled over to my wife "I think he's having a seizure!".

We practically ran down the steps, terrified at what the hell was going on, and got down to the main concourse where security called the EMTs over from the other side of the building. After only a minute or two, he had stopped shaking and foaming at the mouth, and was just looking very groggy and disoriented. The EMTs showed up and got him onto a stretcher and he was off to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We were in the ER for 6 hours (mostly waiting for him to give us a urine sample to test for a UTI - looking for some reason other than a virus for the fever).

Turns out, he only had a simple febrile (fever) seizure, caused by a sudden rise in temperature. No danger of brain damage or risk of epilepsy, which we were VERY grateful to hear. It happens to maybe 4-5% of kids 6 months to 6 years old. Hopefully the following will be useful to other parents/caregivers out there:

"What should I do when my child has seizure?

Febrile seizures often scare parents, but they are usually harmless to the child.
The two most important things to do are
1)Make sure that your child is breathing and
2)Keep your child from hurting herself.

Stay calm and follow a few simple steps:
Make sure your child is breathing. If her lips turn bluish, this is a sign that she is not breathing.
Call for emergency help if your child is not breathing. If you know CPR, give CPR while you wait.
If your child is breathing okay, move her to the floor or ground so she doesn't fall.
Lay your child on her side to prevent choking.
Remove any objects near your child including tables and chairs.
Loosen clothes that your child is wearing.
Do not hold your child down or interfere with her movements.
Never put anything in your child's mouth during a seizure.
Call the doctor as soon as possible.
Your child will probably fall into a deep sleep after her seizure. This is normal. Do not wake her up. Do not give her food or drink while she is asleep.
Your doctor may tell you to try to reduce your child's fever."


Turns out, we went back to the Circus Sunday night with better, free tickets courtesy of the Spectrum's box office and thoroughly enjoyed the show. I even got some pics - the 717 ain't the best at this type of stuff, but here's something I did this morning: