[seamusnicholas]

We were at Barnes and Noble today and I was at the counter ordering soup and drinks and I turned around to see where S was and he was laying flat on his face. I was holding the baby in the carrier and Nicholas was next to me and dh was putting our stuff down at a table. I said, "Seamus, what are you doing?" and he didn't answer. I was thinking what the heck is he laying down for. Then when he didn't answer, I thought he fell and hurt is foot. I told him to stand up and by now dh was back and i told him to get him up. We then realized after trying to talk to him as he was faced down that he was not responding so dh picked him up and his eyes were open . He was dazed and pale. We got out of there as fast as we could. Dh was carrying him and he was dead weight. Dh said when he picked him up his legs were kicking. He was sooo tired.

Two people were in line behind us and one man said he grabbed onto his dads leg (which wasnt dh since he was getting us a table...so he grabbed another mans leg I guess) and then went down. Another lady said she teaches special ed and it looks like a petite mal seizure so that is what we had to go by when talking to the er dr's. I just looked up petite mal seizure though and it doesn't match what happened.

We went to the ER and his bloodwork tests came back all normal and they did a ekg (I think thats the name) and his heart was fine. They said because he was confused and he was kicking they didn't know if it was a seizure or fainting.

On Mon we are going to the dr and they will send us for an mri and i think another ekg or some test like that. It was all so scary. Now I am nervous that it will happen again.

One thing we have which makes us lean towards fainting is that dh's family is fainters. DH has fainted many times in his life. Not sure if that is hereditary but since his siblings have fainted too...

Anyone have experience with fainting that sounds like this?

This post has been edited by seamusnicholas: 19 February 2012 - 12:53 AM

[MLH]

No experience, but that must have been so scary. I always worry I won't know what to do if something like that would happen. I'm glad your DH was with you and that Seamus seems to be doing better now. Keep us posted on the follow up visits.

[tinalb]

Oh no, Nicole, I am sure that scared you guys to death! :hug: to you & Seamus. I have no experience, but let us know what you find out!

[sweetfrangipani]

I'm a fainter and have been since I was little.. to do with low blood pressure I'm told... sometimes it's from lack of not eating frequently - I keep nuts and bread sticks in the car.

Did he say if he felt dizzy before he fell down, sometimes I start seeing "stars" literally so know I'm about to faint.


It could have been a faint, but it's best to do the tests just to double check and peace of mind.

That would have been so scary!

[Mom to Jack and Anna]

My husband has a coworker who just faints every now and then. They've run the battery of tests, and she has no concerning issue. Just something that makes her faint. I hope it is something similar for you.

And what the hell with the people who saw it and apparently walked away or did nothing to call for help?

[MichelleL]

Oh gosh Nicole!! I have no advice but big hugs to you. How scary that must have been. I hope they can figure out what happened. :hug: :hug:

[itsnancycozzi]

:hug: Nicole that had to be so terrifying! I am a fainter and I've gone through the work up for seizures (EEG, cat scan of the brain, heart monitor, etc.) The doctors have attributed my fainting due to stress.
Please keep us posted with how the tests go :hug: I hope they figure out what's going on.

[TwinLove]

:( How scary. :hug: to you and Seamus. I hope you get some answers and I'm hoping it never happens again.

[JicJac]

:hug: I cannot imagine what was/is going through your mind right now. I hope you figure out what it is. I agree with the previous poster, what the heck.. no one helped him before you saw him?

[becasquared]

:(

Please let us know any updates. Poor guy.

[EMMom]

Scary... I second the what the hell to the people that were watching and didn't yell out. Glad to hear he is fine now though. I think the MRI and EEG is a good idea if they think seizure is a possibility. If it happens again multiple times and doesn't look like a seizure, they can always have him wear a Holter monitor, continuously records heart rhythm to make sure arrhythmia isn't the cause. Hopefully it just doesn't happen again!

[seamusnicholas]

As far as the people around...I think it all happened really fast. I wonder if I turned around right when he went down. But yeah...they should have been on their knees next to him as they were calling out for me. It was a line of 4 people. I was first in line. He went down in between the 2nd and 3rd person. So poor Seamus was probably out of it for a sec wandering (which makes me think faint, right?)

When dh picked him up I looked at the people and asked them to tell me exactly what happened. The one man said take him right now to the ER and then the other lady was the one who has seen this before...Why didn't they react is a good question.

I wish ds had never heard us talking around him in the car on the way to the er or to a few family members. Because when he tells the story, I know it is not all him! If he never heard us, then maybe we could have gotten a more accurate description of what happened.

So Katherine now has a 103 fever prob from being at the gross ER with us (since i nurse she comes with me everywhere) and Nicholas, who my sister picked up from the hospital so he would not have to be there for hours, cried last night saying he was not part of our family since he was not with us!

[rollergiraffe]

That must have been so scary for you all :grouphug: Keep us updated on the tests and hopefully it was just one of those things.

[Happy June]

What a scary experience! I hope all the tests come back clear.

I used to faint as a child, usually for a while after a growth spurt and it then slowly went away. They could not figure out why but we all learnt to deal with it and know the warning signs.

I hate taking the kids to the ER or our pedi's emergency practice, they always seem to catch something. I hope Katherine recovers quickly.

[megkc03]

How scary! :hug: I hope you find some answers. I remember fainting twice-but I was older. One I was sick, and the other the woman couldn't find my vein to draw blood and I passed out. They said that I may have convisled(I woke up on the floor), so I had the EEG, EKG, etc etc. I was 21 or so. I guess the eeg(?) showed some unusual activity, but all is and has been fine.

Update when you can and I hope Katherine is feeling better. :hug:

[ECUBitzy]

Oh, Nicole! Poor Seamus. :( I'm sure that was so scary. I have no experience, but I wanted to offer my thoughts.

And Nicholas's tears break my heart. Poor boy!

:grouphug: Let us know what you find out.

[mama23boys]

How scary! :hug:

A lot of my students have seizures and from what you described (especially the part about him grabbing the man's legs), it sounds more like fainting than any type of petit mal seizure my students have. There is, in my experiences, no purposeful movement during a seizure.

I hope you guys find put what happened very soon, I can't even imagine how worried you have been.

[Lesley Anne]

It sounds like fainting to me as well, I do hope you are able to rule out everything else. How scary!!! I would feel anxious about it happening again too, :hug:
I hope Katherine feels better soon, poor girl!

Hang in there!!

[seamusnicholas]

Thank you do much everyone for your replies and thoughts!

The ped ordered an EEG which he will have next Wed. Tomorrow we will see a cardiologist (his EKG was good in the ER so I am sure that will be fine) and a week after the EEG a neurologist. (Takes a week to read the EEG so thats why the neurologist a week later).

She said its worth doing the full work up even though it is so possible it was most likely a faint.

I really appreciate all the thoughts!

[JicJac]

Thanks for the update Nicole!!!