Help Needed

After spending a late night up studying Spanish till two, I was woken up at 5.30 this morning by violent knocking at my door.  It was one of the girls from the bungalows, in her pajamas, with a torch light and a desperate look on her face.

"Come and help my friend!!!" she exclaimed.  

Lintz, her 13 year old roommate and cousin from Luxembourg was having an epileptic attack.  

My heart broke into a gallop.

According to her (frightened) cousin, Lintz had suddenly sat up in bed and started making these deep, guttural sounds in her throat.  The type you hear when someone throws up.  Her eyes were half-closed, and she was shaking uncontrollably.  Teeth clenched, voice shaking "gnnnnaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh".  

It was horrible waking up one minute, and breaking into full sprint the next to check on one of your kids.

Yes, in slippers, on a very cold windy dawn, wearing flimsy PJs.  The bungalows were eerily silent.  All I could hear were the hovering tree boughs shaking and the our anxious, gravel-crunching footsteps.   Even the weather seemed to be in cahoots with what was happening.

When Kiko and I found her, she was in comatose and drooling on a towel.  Unresponsive, breathing heavily. She didn't respond to shaking or calling her name.  Thankfully her heartbeat was strong.  I didn't know what else to do except to lay hands on her and start praying, while Kiko dialed for emergency.

When the paramedics finally came, they tried waking her up again and she responded.  Strangely, she couldn't remember anything that had happened.  

She is at the hospital now.  Apparently this was her very first episode.


Blinking tired.  What a morning, and the day has yet begun!