CONOR TURNS BLUE DURING BREATH HOLDING SPELL

It was 7pm when I rolled up in front of the house after work. I had stopped at the store for some groceries so we could cook dinner. Like every day, when I entered the house I could hear Conor run to the top of the stairs hollering, "Dadda." I put down the groceries and came upstairs to say hi and give him a hug. I lifted him up and he giggled as I gave him a big kiss. I asked him if he wanted to go downstairs and he said, "no." I asked him if he wanted to stay upstairs and as I put him down, he started crying. Val says, "he just wants you to hold him." I said, “Okay, I'll just give you a big hug," and I kept him in my arms and propped him up near my face. But he kept crying and after the third crying breath, he got stuck in an inhale and kept sucking inward instead of letting his breath out to take in a new breath. We've seen him take a long time on other occasions since he was born so I casually I turned to Val and said, ” I hate when he looks like he's stuck…like he can't breathe.“
After I said that, Val and I both looked back at him because he still hadn't taken a breath. At that moment, his mouth turned blue. I looked at him and was horrified. I looked at Val to see if I was seeing things. She too looked petrified. I looked again and around his eyes started turning blue. I barked at Val to call 911. Her phone was out of battery so I gave her mine. I looked again, and his whole head had turned blue and he was starting to lose consciousness. He slowly went limp. We were losing him. I began running down the stairs to our Russian neighbors because she is a pediatrician in Russia. But she isn't certified in the states. Who cares! As I ran across the street, Conor let out a cry! He had breathed and could cry. But after two cries his eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp in my arms.
I banged on Lana's door for 15 seconds and gave up. I remembered our other neighbor was a nurse practitioner and her husband a fireman, so I ran to her house and rang the doorbell. I couldn't just stand there so I tried the doorknob and it was open and I ran in. Conor started to cry again. He was still alive. I hollered for Christine and she came down the stairs asking if everything was okay. I told her about Conor and she ran down the stairs to look at him. She asked if we had called 911. Val was right behind me and had been on the phone with them for about three to four minutes at this point, giving them the story as patiently as a frantic mom can.
Suddenly, the fire department came blazing down the street. I headed out the door and Christine said he looked okay but should go to the hospital. Then the police rolled up. Then the ambulance rolled up. All arriving in 4 minutes, maybe faster. By then Conor was feeling better and pointed to the cop car with its lights flashing saying, 'car'. As the ambulance drove up he pointed and said, "truck.” Everyone agreed he looked good at this point. His cheeks were rosy red. Christine said he looked really bad at her house but looked to her his usual self now. The ambulance asked if we wanted to still go to the hospital. We said yes and Christine agreed. The ambulance guy suggested I get in the ambulance with Conor. He set me up to lay in the gurney with Conor laying on top. val got a diaper bag and a milk and snacks and got in, too., I gave Christine the keys to my car so Ray could pick us up, at the hospital when we were done. Off we went to the emergency room.
The doctors at MGH Hospital couldn't find anything wrong. As one last precaution after checking vitals and asking enough questions to be convinced it wasn't a seizure, they did an EKG. Wires were all over Conor and he patiently placed stickers they had given him on his body along side the EKG stickers. The EKG came up out great. After this last puzzle piece, they had solved the puzzle; breath holding spells. Turns out 25% of kids get these things. Usually accompanying a tantrum,they're body's breathing reflex stalls and the child is basically holding their breath. They eventually pass out. And within a minute, usually less, the Brain's involuntary system kicks the breathing back into gear and the child can breathe again. If there isn't any underlying condition associated with the breathing, then there should be no long term damage done for a child. While that's the craziest thing I have ever heard, we all went home feeling that we could sleep easy and deal with a possible next time.
How did I feel holding my son as he turned blue before my eyes and then lose consciousness? I thought Conor was dying in my arms. At first I felt helpless as I slapped his back trying to wake up his breathing reflex to do something besides being stuck in that mode. Then I realized there were still things to do. Call 911. Then I remembered there was a pediatrician next door. Then, I remembered the nurse practioner two houses down. These things gave me hope and kept me busy. There was no need to panic as long as there were things to do to keep him alive.
It was so good to hear him cry again. The very same feeling I had when I heard Conor cry the first time when he was born. If they're crying it means they're alive.
The following resources are a must if you think your child may suffer from the same phenomenon.
Additional resources to 'breath holding spells';
http://www.pediatrics.emory.edu/divisions/neurology/Breathholding.html
http://www.babycenter.com/404_is-it-normal-that-my-child-holds-her-breath-to-the-point-of_3652490.bc

blog comments powered by Disqus