Journey of a father

It's been more than a week now since I had that experience as a father. My son Dré had his seizure on July 5 last week.

It happen on sunday afternoon after I pick him up from his granma's house. Lola Mama (that's what we call her lola) told me that Dré had a fever but when I touched him I know it was just only a common fever. Then, when we arrived at our house, I told my wife to look into Dré's condition. But my wife is too busy on her errands in washing our clothes. I decided to lay beside my son at our bed as our daughter Yzzy played her favorite game on the laptap.I noticed that my son just can't stop moving, crouching his stomach and complaining how it hurts. Then Dré complained his legs, well, everytime Dré goes to sleep, he always want us to massage his legs until he mfell asleep. My mom massage Dré's legs but he just can't get his sleep. Then I decided that I will massage it for him until he saw her Ate Yzzy leave her chair and Dré just got of the bed and played his Ate's game. But I noticed that he can't play normal as he complained again his stomach ache. Then I asked my son if he wants to lay beside me and let me massage his stomach. Dré agrred and he let me carry hm over to our bed. As I start to touch his stomach, he then shouted... "Pa!!!" then I saw my son eyes shoot up and his hands and arms twitching like crazy and his legs jerking and kicking inot the air. That moment i really felt something that I never felt before in my entier life. I was really scared and my hair all over my body raising up and my whole body felt numb. I shouted for help as to alert everyone in our house. I held my son unto my arms as i saw his face turning black... then my mother came to see what just happening and when he saw her grandson he took it from me and then I ran down across the street to call a taxi. That moment, I can't think of anything clear but as much as possible, I knew I had to do something, something to make me hang on my slef to calm me inside out. Then when there's no taxi to be found, i ran to my uncle's house to ask for their help since they have car... but that time, my uncle can't drive it and my bayaw or brother-in-law had just leave. Then I return to the highway again to see if I can still catch a cab then luckily I saw one and at that time I saw my mother rinnung down to me, holding my son at her arms as my wife run with them too. As I open the door of the cab, I told the driver that it is an emergency and they need to go to a hospital as fast as they can...

That moment, I noticed that I'm crying... like a child as I stand in the middle of the street as the rain pours. When I returned to our house, I called my compadre Niel to help me or someting to calm me... Niel run as fast as he can to see what's happening, and then when he arrived, I told him what just happen.

After I changed my clothes, I saw Enan (one of my compadre too and Dré's Godfather like my best bud Niel) just arrived to see us. Then, we decided to follow my son at the hospital at the MCM or Medical City Manila. That time, my bayaw Arnold came and offered to drive us to the hospital using my uncle's car. As we hop in to the car my tita (auntie) Lita joins us.

As we arrived at the hospital, we go directly to the Emergency Room. I saw my mom and my wife standing beside my son as Dré lying asleep. I ask my mom some several questions and there I learned that when I gave Dré to my mom as I called a cab my mom noticed that moment that my son was not breathing, then in that moment also, my mom gave a mouth to mouth resuscitation to him. After the third time, Dré shows some consciousness, he opened his eyes and just stared at my mom. My mom keep calling my son's name to test him if he's still aware or something or to show some signs that his ok. My mom also added that when they arrived at the hospital and injected some medicine on him, my mom asked Dré if he wants something... my son replied... "hotdog..." then he smile and fell asleep. When I heard that, it made me smile too 'coz I know my son is now ok.

As I talked to the doctors, they just took some blood and waitng for his urine to test it. Then we took our son to his room with all of us praying for his health. As we arrived to his payward room, we some children there and when we asked them what's the cause of it, they answered almost the same, it's due to having a high fever.

After a day, the doctor informed us that he's out of the danger for now but we still need to observe him for another 48 hours just to make sure. Thank God, it's not a dengue or anything... but when I asked the doctor what happen to him, she replied that having a seizure at that age maymcome from suh a high fever or from normal to going high or from high going low normal temperature, it always depends on the kids adoptation or body from the fever. Even if it just from normal temperature and just starting to heat up, the child may have his seizure even if it is just 37-38 degrees of his temperature or sometimes from having a 40degrees and suddenly dropping to 36 degrees or in betwwen, the seizure may also occure. But what i'm really concern is that my son is a G6PD baby. At first, I thought that his seizure is from his G6PD and that time I also thought that her Lola Mama or someone gave my son that he ate that makes him jerking like that. But once I recieved the report from the doctor, I was wrong about itm and the cause is his having a fever.

Anyway, thanks to my friends Niel, Enan, Sherwin, Jesse & other for helping me understand more and putting me at ease to the situation. And also to my parents and siblings and other relatives and also to my mother-in-law for helping us at the hospital. And also to my loving wife and daughter whom i heard praying for my his little brother's health. Now, my son is back to his self.... what else... just being a kid of course.

By this experience, I realized that being a father for me had just begun and this is only just a taste of it. Well, as what my kumareng Liza say... "tatay ka na nga talaga james...".

 G-6-PD Deficiency (CRC monoscience series)