Last Monday, the household was jolted by a sudden scare. My daughter, who is currently 10 (and 1/2!) years old, was taking her morning shower. I was in bed, the boys (my boyfriend and 13 year old son) were up, poking around on the computer while waiting to go to school or work. My daughter had just gotten into the shower. She squeaked. Dustin (boyfriend) got up to go check to make sure everything was okay. She doesn't squeak when she is startled or scared. He knocked, asked if all was well, she laughed and said she was fine, he went back to what he was doing.
Then, a few moments later, she started complaining of an upset stomach. Now, mind you, my bedroom is on the other side of the wall from the bathroom- my bedroom door right next to the bathroom door. This complaining caught my attention, because she was actually calling for Dustin's assistance while she was still in the shower . This isn't something she does, even when it's me she is talking to. He went back to the door, she complained it was getting bad, so he opened our bedroom door, stuck his head in to tell me I should go talk to her, I nodded, already pulling the covers off of me. While this exchange was going on though, she started yelling "I see black! All I can see is black!" I jumped up and ran into the bathroom. My 10-year old daughter was blind. 100% blind. Her eyes were vacant and staring, her arms groping around her to stablize herself. I began asking her questions- what was she feeling, seeing, etc.. while trying to move her to me. She was answering me coherantly, at first, but her body went really rigid, and her voice began to trail. I felt like I was trying to move a big doll. It was horrifying. Then, she just fell on me.. still rigid, but not moving.
I screamed for Dustin to come get her. I couldn't hold her, and I didn't want to drop her half in and half out of the shower like that. He came in and grabbed her while I ran and called 911. I was still giving the operator our address when Dustin began yelling that she was back- she was here with us. I relayed as much information to the dispatcher as I could, and then she let me go back to my daughter, since she was awake and "normal".
The fire department soon arrived. By now my daughter was fully dressed, and a bit embarrassed. I had asked her what happened, and she told me it all started pretty stupidly, and she felt it silly and unimportant. Apparently, she had just woken up, groggy, no water, etc... She stepped into the shower, and as her hair slid down her shoulder, that still-half-asleep state of her brain thought it was a spider, and when she looked, that brain thought it was a tarantula sized spider. On her arm. Next to her face. This is what had caused the squeak before it all. It all happened in a split second, and she immediately knew it was her hair. I told her it was not at all stupid, and that it actually relieved me that there was something that could be considered a trigger- that all of this did not just happen out of the blue.
Turns out, it was very important. The fire department and paramedics said they thought it was most likely something called "vasovagal syncope". They referred us to the hospital in Silverdale to make sure. The EMTs were very sweet. They treated my daughter very professionally and made her feel comfortable, which I was worried about, being she was so embarrassed about the spider incident. They explained to her how important it was, and how great it was, that she remembered and told about it, because the sudden severe startlement set off a reaction in her brain that caused her to pass out.
The hospital agreed with their assessement. This article explains it pretty well. I took this straight from About.com. I highlighted the part that particulary pertains to her:
Read article here
"Anyone can have vasovagal syncope given an adequate triggering event, but many people are particularly prone to these episodes, and often with relatively mild triggers. These individuals tend to relate histories of syncope dating back to adolescence, and frequently will describe several different of triggering events. While, as noted, there are scores of possible triggering events for vasovagal syncope, some are quite characteristic and almost always point to vasovagal syncope. Syncope occurring after urinating, defecating, coughing or swallowing, or syncope associated with pain, fright, the sight of blood, or other noxious stimuli, is almost always vasovagal.
In these and other ways, vasovagal syncope tends to be highly situational. It is more likely to occur after a viral illness, after exercise, after a warm shower, or early in the morning – any time that relative dehydration is present, and dilation of the blood vessels in the legs would be more likely to produce a significant drop in blood pressure. Furthermore, vasovagal syncope is often preceded by a few seconds or a few minutes of warning symptoms. Often, these symptoms include lightheadedness, ringing in the ears, visual disturbances, sweating and/or nausea. Because of such “warning symptoms,” people who have had one or two episodes of syncope are frequently able to tell when an event is about to occur. And importantly, if they recognize the warning symptoms, they are able to abort the blackout simply by lying down and elevating the legs. (“Aborting” syncope is not possible with most other forms of syncope.)"
I feel better after reading up on it, though recanting it still makes my stomach roll and my pulse race. My belief is that, because of the highly circumstancial "trigger", this is only a one time thing. I don't think she is going to be one of those people that this happens to frequently, though we do continue to keep an open eye on her at all times, for the meantime. I have an appointment for a follow-up tomorrow, and I am expecting a clear bill of health.
0 comments:
Post a Comment