The Scariest 60 Seconds of My Life

The day was completely normal with a highly anticipated trip to visit my sister in Calgary. The drive down was uneventful and we arrived in good time for Alicia and I to have a good visit. Once her youngest woke up, we decided to head to a playground which was about a 7 minute walk away from her house. As my sister and I were chatting near the swings, I saw Sarah trip on a 2 inch curb and land on her hands and knees. She was about 10 feet away and I quickly rushed over to help her up. She didn't appear overly upset other than she pointed to her hand. As I lifted her up, her head flopped backwards, her back arched and then when I gently set her on the ground, her eyes rolled back into her head. I remember screaming for my sister to help. She ran over and asked if she was breathing. We both felt for breathing and as as we did, Sarah gasped for breath and began to cry. I scooped her up and held her close as she continued to cry in my arms. Alicia noticed that under her eyes was quite blue as was the skin around her lips. From the time I saw her trip until I was holding her crying, was probably around 60-90 seconds. She didn't lose consciousness or fall asleep afterwards but she did want to go home. She relaxed in the stroller on the way back and seemed to be pretty much normal after 20 minutes or so. 

I called Sarah's pediatrician and spoke to a nurse who didn't think it was a typical seizure but rather just a reaction to a situation. I'm not totally convinced about that because the fall wasn't that hard or anything serious. One of the things that my sister found online that sounds very much like what occurred was REFLEX ANOXIC SEIZURE. The site says:

"Any unexpected stimuli, such as pain, fear, fright or even a pleasant surprise can cause a seizure. During the seizure the heart stops, the eyes roll, there is a marked pallor (paleness) of the skin and clenching of the jaw. The body also stiffens and there may be jerking movements of the arms and legs.

After a few seconds to half a minute, the heart starts beating again and the body relaxes. The child may remain unconscious for anything from a few minutes to well over an hour as children often fall into a deep sleep afterwards."

Of course this is just something we found on the internet but I'm planning to talk to her doctor about it in a month. 

It's been over 24 hours since this happened and my stomach is still uneasy. The sight of my baby in the state that she was in is something that is etched in my memory forever.