We got a full-time caregiver for him as I work long hours. I'm thankful that my husband arranges for all the therapies and school requirements. I just show up at the PTC or school activity when asked.
It doesn't mean that I don't know how to take care of my son.
Everytime his yaya goes on her day-off, I take care of him--whether to feed him or bathe him. I thought we had a system going on until an event took us by surprise just this weekend.
We were having a quiet morning at the grocery one Saturday. I was going around getting our essentials while my son was in another cart. Like always, he had a Tide bar in his hand as he likes the smell. However, I was surprised when I saw him covered with vomit as apparently he threw up. We thought he bit into the detergent bar. So his caregiver took him to the restroom to get him cleaned up.
A few minutes later, she called me saying that my son looks a bit weak and that we should go home. When I saw them, he could barely lift his head and we carried him back to the car. However, I became concerned when he was unresponsive even if his eyes were open. We then decided to bring him to the ER which was fortunately, just across the mall.
Upon arriving, the guards had to help me carry him inside. When the nurses saw him, they immediately called out, "Seizure", and quickly rushed him to critical care. It was then that I broke down.
I saw him hooked into whatever machine to monitor his vital signs and an IV was also inserted. In regular days, he would've cried loudly but in that case, there was no reaction whatsoever. I sat down with him and kept on calling him but no response--just wide open and twitching eyes.
The ER was able to contact our pedia and upon seeing his eyes, we were referred to a neuro pedia who had him sedated. It was a long hour where I alternated between crying, talking to him and praying. I knew he was waking up when he began moving on his own. He said, "help me", when he saw all the things on him and vomited again--probably due to the meds.
It took 4 nurses to get him cleaned up and transferred to another bed and he slept his natural sleep. From the ER, we were transferred to a regular room where the neuro pedia saw us and an EEG was performed.
Fortunately, we were discharged a day later armed with lots of information about seizure and anti-seizure meds.
Seeing my son go through that is just a traumatizing experience. We were told that it's not something to be too worried about as long as we manage the seizures--meaning keeping him safe and that someone should be with him 24/7.
Regardless of the doctor's assurances, I can't help but worry. When my son was diagnosed with ASD, we got him into therapy which would help him to become an independent and contributing member to society. But this impairment is one roadblock which we're not prepared to handle yet.
I know we'll get through this and that our son will power through. We'll just take it one day at a time.
