Okay.. Here goes.. Many have been asking me “How on earth Piya
ended up with a febrile fit?” or more commonly known as seizures…. I know that
the news stir shivers in your spine and you might have thought “Why were you so
careless?” or “What have you been doing?”…. To be honest with you; no mother
with a sound mind would want any harm on her baby so believe me, it was not negligence
but just something beyond my control……. *We can’t stop blaming ourselves already okay…..
How everything started
The whole catastrophe began on Tuesday Jan 8, 2013; I fetch
Piya as usual around 6.20pm from her playschool. While I was parking the car, I
could see her running around the yard with her new friends. The weather wasn’t that
bad however it wasn’t that good either. As I put my arms around her, I noticed
that her head (only the head) was very warm. Something felt amiss. Later that
night, Uncle Din and I took turns looking after Piya as the temperature began
to permeate to her entire body. Around 3:00 am, her temperature has reached 39
degrees C. My goodness.. So without
further delay, I inserted a suppository in her anal and
begin to unravel her clothes and sponge her little body.
The next day Wednesday Jan 9, 2013 I brought Piya to our favorite
clinic in town; Alam Medic @ Bukit Jelutong. I informed the doctor that my
greatest concern was the fear of Piya might be experiencing dengue fever
because she would have mosquito’s bites on her arms and face everyday upon returning
from the playschool. Mothers are
paranoid; tell me about it….. Much to my surprise, the doctor just checked
her temperature (by her ears), her heart beat rate and said it is a normal
fever. She didn’t even bother to scrutinize Piya physically. Was this doctor deaf or what? She subscribed
us some medicines and subsequently I sent Piya to her playschool. I just
informed the principal to look after Piya with extra care and call me if she
gets worse.
What happened that night
Now, this is where the nightmare begins…… Piya was getting
really warm and wasn’t responding to her medication. Prior to head to DEMC, I gave
her a quick bath with hopes it might subside the temperature. With an audacity of
hopes, we went to DEMC and apparently her temperature has reached 39.3 degrees
C. Suddenly out of nowhere, Piya passes stool and of course she needs a nappy
change. We went to the ladies room and I loosen her diaper. I splash some water
to her derrières and was totally caught by surprise that Piya gushes an
unfamiliar sound. As I look up in the big wall size mirror, Piya’s jaw had
dropped and hardened. Her eyes were void and began to fidget horizontally. What the heck??
“Piya! Piya! Nape nih sayang???” Coincidently, our number
was called and I ran to the doctor’s room carrying Piya close to my chest. I had forgotten that she weights 12kg and
totally felt like a high school sprinter for 100m again. The doctor asked
me to go the emergency room at the back and we were asked to step aside. A scene
from Grey’s Anatomy flashed my mind….. I can’t believe that one day I would be
one of those people standing hopelessly by the side and watched the doctor trying
to save my daughter’s life…. Damn…….
They unravel her garb and sponge the entire body. Meanwhile,
another nurse pokes her small hand and inserted a tube. Blood began to flow
through the tube into a small test tube... The doctor inserted something in her
anal and tried to keep the body under control. Piya wasn’t being herself; She was fidgeting, both toes were pointed vertically and looked so pale, her mouth
was muttering unfamiliar words and her eyes were still void…. I looked up at
Uncle Din and he was so desolate. The grief was so palpable. I on the other
hand managed to held back my tears and hold my breath. Be calm and don’t cry.. Be calm and don’t cry.. It became a mantra
in my head… I couldn’t bear watching her so I distracted myself by reaching for
my insurance's agent. Now you know the importance of getting an insurance for your child right? Get one!
Moments later, Piya began to regain her consciousness (I think
about 45 minutes later) but was still drowsy though. The staff had to bandage
both her palms because she keeps trying to pull the tube and loosen the bandage.
Hospital’s Paeds came in later; Dr Koshi (I LOVE DR. KOSHI.. HE’S THE BEST..)
and he began to explain quite a bunch of information. In fact, it was quite
overwhelming to digest such information as we’re still shaken from the misery
that took place. The hospital took 1 hour or so to clear the insurance and we
were admitted promptly.
 |
| This was right after she gain consciousness @ the emergency room |
As the routine goes
I don’t know about other hospitals but DEMC is very much
well known for holding back the patients for days….. Don’t expect to stay
overnight or even 2 nights.. More often than not, they will keep you for 1
week. So as for us, we stayed for 5D5N and the total bill was ≈ RM5,000.00
(hoyeaaaaah…. Thank goodness we have insurance). The routine was very simple; consulted by Paeds twice a day,
oral medication every 4 hours and nebulizer every 3 hours. Piya had a terrible
cough with phlegm which hinders her recovery. She would cry every time they
made her inhale the nebulizer. During night time, I would ensconce next to her
and make her feel safe while Uncle Din crashed on the sofa bed by the window. Poor
baby…
The fever was continual; sometimes she’s fine at 37,
sometime she’s at 39. As long as the fever hasn’t deter, Dr. Koshi refuses to
discharge Piya and that was why we ended up 5 days in the hospital. Even though
Piya is the patient, Uncle Din and I were the ones ended up being weary. She is
so active with zero resemblance to a sick person. She would still climb the
bed, the couch, running down the corridor, down at the lobby and all over the
places.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Root Cause, Prevention and Control
Well, basically the root cause for febrile fit is none other
than the baby was having a high fever. Some says that it is inheritance but I cannot
vouch that. If your child hasn’t experience one, be prudent and mindful to keep
her temperature subdue. Pat / sponge her continually and let her be in diapers
only.
Now, what happens if your baby has experienced one? I can’t
give you any solace that everything will be okay because I myself am very
afraid right now. Dr. Koshi explained that once your baby has experienced
febrile fit, there is a 30% chance of re-occurrence during every fever even
when the temperature is only 38 degrees C. Give oral medicine Paracetamol (available
at all Pharmacies) or suppository. The difference is simple;
Paracetamol takes longer time but can be consume promptly while suppository can
only be provided when the temperature is too high. I’m not quite sure about
this because Dr. Koshi said that is a wrong teaching. Hmm….
All we can do is just manage and keep it under control.
Repeat the steps above and if she is strike with a seizure, lean her side ways (to
avoid choking on saliva) and continue to sponge the body. Don’t feed her any
oral medication as she may choke. Don’t place any silver spoon (like the old
adage or ancient ways) as that may cause damage to the teeth.
It’s hard but then again, being a parent is not easy. Thank
you for reading this….
