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My life, my priorities and my love for my children
all took on a whole new meaning that night...

It all started when we went to visit my family for Christmas Eve. We had a wonderful time and finally got tired and decided to come on home around 9:15pm. I tucked the kids into the back seat (buckled and snuggled) and settled in for the 50 minute drive. Within minutes, they had dosed off and I was listening to some great 80's rock on the radio.

10-15 minutes into the trip I started hearing noises from the backseat... obviously one of my children was getting sick. It is 9:30 on Christmas Eve in a small country town, and I had the road to myself... so I flipped on the interior light and took a glance back there. My 9 year old son (my healthy, never-had-a-problem, bright & beautiful boy) was vomiting, urinating and convulsing in a very obvious seizure.

I pulled the car off the road, jumped out and ran around, and got in beside him. I unbuckled him, sat him up straight and checked to make sure he was able to breathe, etc. I was screaming for help, knowing my cellular phone wouldnt work in that remote area, and hoping that there was some house nearby in this pitch dark and deserted stretch of the road. Meanwhile my 4 year old daughter has woken up and is staring at her big brother, very quiet and very scared. It was a gruesome site indeed, and I have no doubt that it was very traumatic for her.

In what must have only been 15-20 seconds from the time I pulled the car over, I saw headlights coming around the corner. I screamed and waved with everything that I could muster, watching one and then two cars pass me by... and then the third pulled over. A young couple ran up to the car and I said "My son is having a seizure - somebody jump in and drive!". The woman took the wheel, following her friend who took the lead, and I made my son as comfortable as possible after scooting in beside him in the back seat.

At this point I am talking to both children, telling them how brave they are and good they are being... checking my son's heartrate and breathing and overall state in the meantime. I was not able to get a response from my son, but my daughter seemed temporarily comforted. I held him to my chest in an attempt to keep his now shivering body as warm as possible. He seemed rigid and limp all at the same time, eyes closed and facial muscles tensed, mouth open and salivating profusely.

It took almost 20 minutes to get to the hospital. I loved, hugged, and talked to my children the whole way, throwing out the ocassional comment to the driver that she was doing great and everything was okay back here. My son was completely non-responsive until about 5 minutes before we arrived... he tried to talk. He was not able to articulate more than a groan but his eyes were open - though glazed over with a crazed look.

During these few short minutes - but what seemed like an eternity - my whole life as I know it passed through my mind. How many times I had not listened when the kids wanted to say something, or said "not now" or "wait a minute"... when at this very moment I wanted nothing in the world more than to know what he wanted to communicate to me. I thought back to my best friend in the 7th grade, who lost her 6yo little brother when he woke up in the middle of the night having a seizure and never woke up from the coma. And the thought ocurred to me that I had no idea what to expect as far as recovery from this type of incident...

Once we got to the hospital, I realized that my son was becoming coherent and was *very* confused about what was going on and why he was in a wheelchair, and where we were - and why?! I answered the barrage of questions... "no, he hasnt been sick lately - he's on no medications - didnt eat anything new - this has never happened before - no family history" etc

My son was answering questions, and asking questions, and I actually laughed out loud with sheer joy at hearing him talk like his old self - He was going to be fine!! They proceeded to insert an IV, do bloodwork, and prepare him for a Cat Scan. Meanwhile, I checked on my daughter and brought her back to see big brother. In this middle-of-nowhere town I could not make a phonecall to either major city from the hospital phone. My cellular phone got no signal. The only person I could reach was my ex husbands mother. I called, and within minutes my SIL and her husband were there and looking after my daughter. What a blessing. They eventually took her home with them while I stayed with my son.

We spent four hours in ER. After all of the test results came back, the doctors had no known cause and (fortunately) no apparent damage from the incident. They discharged us with some anti-seizure medication and an order to call his pediatrician on Tuesday morning. I warmed up the car, loaded up my precious son, and for the second time that night tucked him into the car for the ride-home-nap. I drove to pick up my daughter, and headed home with them both.

My precious babies. Sleeping and beautiful. My mind was racing all the way home as I thought how wonderful life was. I listened to every breath they took, and peeked back at their content little faces at every stoplight.

Halfway home I passed a huge fire - a home, burning to the ground. With firetrucks everywhere and smoke billowing into the sky, time seemed to go in slow motion as I passed and realized that life and love were so much bigger than I had ever realized before - That my "problems" were small in comparison to other things, and that I had so much to be thankful for. Half an hour later I sat in my driveway... kids sleeping peacefully in the backseat... staring up at my home, so grateful to be carrying my two beautiful and healthy children into our warm house.

I didnt sleep a wink. I layed the children on a pallet in front of the Christmas tree (all blinking lights unplugged for safety - from both seizures *and* fires) and sat on the couch and watched them sleep. I love those kids.

They woke up at 7am and ripped open all the gifts - smiling and laughing and so tickled at every little thing they unwrapped. The gift I received this year was not wrapped, and came with no ribbons, but it warms my heart with a glow not unlike the complete infatuation I felt when I first laid eyes on them as newborn babies. My life, my priorities and my love for my children all took on a whole new meaning that night...