Jiggity jig

First of all, thank you all sooo much for everything...for your kind words, your thoughts, your prayers, all of it.

The best news is that Daniela came home today; to say that we are thrilled is an understatement. The docs seem to think the febrile seizure was likely an isolated incident brought on by the viral pneumonia they diagnosed while she was in the hospital. Given her history, however, they have put her back on phenobarbital as a precaution since she may be predisposed to future febrile seizures going forward. She'll continue to be followed by her neurologist and we'll see what happens in time.

Secondarily, by having the seizure, Daniela sort of did us a favor because, by taking her to the hospital, we learned that she had a head injury--however, how she got it is a mystery to us. It's a subdural hematoma in the right temporal area and this is the small bleed that showed up on the MRI. It was NOT caused by the febrile seizure.

This is an injury typically seen in abused/shaken children, drunks, or traumatic injuries. While it can happen from a trip or fall, it doesn't typically happen that way. We're inclined, however, to think that that is how it may have happened, as she is currently cruising all around and has taken a few good falls in the past couple of months and has also been bowled over by J once or twice when she's run around the kitchen island and not seen D playing underfoot. Her head injury is estimated to be about a month old.

So, given the nature of the head injury--which she is suffering no ill effects from whatsoever--we are still under investigation by the department of children and families (DCF) as well as the county sheriff's office since the injury is often one of abuse. The DCF doctor, however, met with us over the weekend, interviewed us and he basically told us that we don't have anything to worry about, he does believe us when we say we did NOT inflict abuse of any sort...the sheriff's detective is also under the same perception from his talks with the doctor.

Long story short, it's been five days of nightmare, but the experience hopefully will grow smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror until one day it is but a distant memory. We've got follow up appointments with some specialists (hematology, opthalmology, neurology) in the coming weeks, and an inspection of our home by the DCF lady, but we're confident that the criminal investigation will soon be closed once the DCF doctor's final report is in.

Just so damned happy she's home and her old self again. And so very happy that you all are here to support us in times like these, where terror reigns supreme, where my self-confidence as a mother has been pushed to the very brink--given the fact that my baby had an injury and I didn't even realize it.

I beat myself up about that for a few days but the rational side of me realizes that she had no external signs or symptoms--no bruising, no lump, nothing that would indicate she had taken a significant hit to the head. It still hurt knowing that I somehow let her down by not protecting her...and if I find out this happened at the day care she attends three days a week, well, what can I say?

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

P.S. Daniela was, understandably, miserable during the first two days in the PICU. Sure, she was cranky, and tired, and slept alot, but--HAHA--because the universe is funny like that, she cut two new teeth those first couple of days as well, making her even more miserable and cranky; you know, because it's not like she had anything else going on.