Strange thing happened to toddler face drooped. Seizure?

[worriedcantsleep]

I'm going out of my mind with concern
My 20 month year old dd was drinking her cup of juice this afternoon and had just done a poo so was about to go over to her to pick her up to change her.
I looked over at her and her head was tipped back slightly and the left side of her face had drooped. Her mouth was hanging open on that side, she looked like a drunk person I callout to her and she is now looking in my direction but one of her eyes is unfocused and looking outwards.
I grabbed hold of her and picked her up and she looked like she was losing consciousness. I called shouted her name in her face then my partner came over and did the same and dd appeared to 'come back to the room' as such and started crying.
I would say this whole thing lasted no more than 20! Seconds.

We took her to the changing mat to get her sorted and read to her from her favourite animal book whilst this happened to see if she would interact with me as normal and she did.

What could this have been? After she went to bed I started to google and all that kept coming up was seizures and brain tumours. I'm beside myself and can't sleep . I'm terrified this could be cancer and we will loose her and we love her so much and waited 5 years for her.

Anyone have any experience of this.
A bit of further info
She banged her forehead badly on Saturday afternoon whilst playing. She cried and there is a big bruise.
She appears to be teething her first mollars at the moment and she has been dribbling excessively for a couple of weeks now but she has NOT got a fever/temperature with it.

OP, the medics on the thread have told you to take her to A&E. The agents at 111 have no medical training. The GP will most likely tell you to take her to A&E so you may as well go now.

She may be fine, but if she does have any kind of head injury, the sooner you go the better.

You're not a bad mother, love.

It's called learning and we're all doing it.

I hope she's OK
Please don't beat yourself up, lots of people aren't aware that head injuries should always be checked by a doctor. You're not a shit mum.

You're not a shit mother

I think it’s easy to assume you’re being “neurotic” or “over protective” and then downplay your own worries or act on them in low/key ways, like posting on MN rather than calling 999.

But honestly, it’s ok to seek help from medical experts when you have a concern. That’s not being neurotic. That’s being a good parent.

I took my PFB to A&E a few times for things that didn’t turn out to be life-threatening and nobody EVER told me I’d overreacted. They all said they trust a mother’s instincts. (There was always something wrong but it wasn’t necessarily fatal.)

@worriedcantsleep You're a great mother - you've sought advice from other people, acted on it, and your DD is going to get the check-up she needs. I have some health anxiety and find it ENORMOUSLY difficult to distinguish between things I should take my children to the GP for, and things I shouldn't. You'll get more confident with it as you go on. Please please please don't let this make you feel bad about your parenting x

@Tzigane

OP, the medics on the thread have told you to take her to A&E. The agents at 111 have no medical training. The GP will most likely tell you to take her to A&E so you may as well go now.

She may be fine, but if she does have any kind of head injury, the sooner you go the better.

Honestly - do this. I agree. 111 are not perfect. And they're especially keen right now for no-one to go to A&E. My one experience with 111 since Covid has been TOTALLY different to before it - and regarding children too - back in the autumn I ended up listening to one 111 operative explaining in great detail why I didn't need to go to A&E with a child with an ankle swollen to all hell - give it a couple of days, it's probably just twisted - no don't go to minor injuries. WTF. I went. It ended up in plaster.

Go to A&E

You are not a bad mother, you seeked advice which is the sign of a good mother. For what it's worth I would have waited myself, I have a dd with a history of blackouts and seizures and we don't go to a&e!

As for the bang on the head, if you went to the dr every time a toddler banged themselves you might as well camp in the hospital car park! 95% of childhood issues are solved just by time, my kids are adults now so I have the benefit of hindsight. Both my dd and my dp's dd have epilepsy so life wasn't plain sailing, but I can assure you unlike some of the critical posters here neither of us ran to the dr all the time, my dd had a partial complex this am before I left for work, I left her with a cup of tea in bed and instructions to bang on the floor if she's still woozy in 30 mins - dp knows (he's working in the room below)

I wish I could see the people on MN who take delight out of chastising, name calling, telling other mothers they are shit and awful- in reality. Does it give you all a really sad little power trip? I'll never forget how recently a mum posted on baby names- she was hoping to use her DS middle name for her baby boy as it was a name she really loved. People out in force telling her this would be a crime/the worst parenting error ever/she was setting her kid up for an awful life.... for wanting to use a name she loved, that happen to appear as 1 of the middle names on her DS rarely seen passport. Get a reality check and focus on your own I'm sure very imperfect lives you pathetic trolls.

Could be Bell's palsy, you're not a shit mum, we all make mistakes.

I also once ignored by DD who said she felt faint because I thought she was being dramatic after an argument! Turns out she wasn't, and have to get stitches in her chin. It happens, don't let the perfect busybodies on here get you down.

@MNHQ

Why did you delete my comment?

I advised her to look into parenting classes, because they can build confidence and held you figure out how to handle situations. The OP has called herself a shit mother, which she is not, but that shows that her confidence must he really low. When your opinion of yourself gets that low, seeking help and support is the right thing to do. Parenting classes are there to help and support parents. I went to parenting classes when dealing with behaviour I didnt know how to manage. They are useful. If the OP really feels that way about her parenting, then how on earth is suggesting she seek some support and guidance against your talk guidelines? I would really like an explanation as to why you believe that struggling parents should not be advised to seek help.

OP sorry about the shit you've been getting on here.

FWIW a friend's toddler showed similar symptoms years ago and was eventually diagnosed with something called 'petit mal' (was living in France - a very mild form of epilepsy, as far as I could make out).

In this child's case, this was connected to mild Tourette's - repetitive actions, verbal tics - and it made for a difficult early childhood. But now he's 11, happy and healthy, at a good school, has loads of friends.

This may be completely irrelevant to whatever is going on with your kid, of course. Just trying to say that even if something is the matter, it's not the end of the world.

You’re not an awful Mother - we are all learning, I am, and I’ve just had our second. Parents are forever learning.

I hope your DD is okay. I’d still take her to A&E, to explain everything and get a thorough check.

Then give yourself a break! Take it easy, and just review for future - get a first aid app/book/course if you are nervous about it all. But don’t dwell on this. Take something from the experience and move on. Take care.

@MNHQ

I also reassured the OP that every one of us has at one point or another felt like a shit mum, so she is not alone. But you delete my comment? What an absolute joke.

I hope she’s ok OP - and you too. You are not a shit mother you just made a mistake which you will learn from (similar has happened to me)

DS (7) fainted twice on saturday morning and we took him to A&E. He was fine, but I know the terror you must be feeling. Hope all goes well xxx

I can't believe people are criticising you OP you are doing all the right things. Just ignore

Sorry but why are you posting on here instead of getting medical attention for your child?

I'm a shit mother. The thread has compounded my existing belief (not being sarcastic )

You absolutely are not. You asked for advice and you got a lot of nasty people jumping on you. Sounds like you made the right call. Hope your DD is ok. (BTW for the record, when my DD broke her arm I didn't realise until the next day - and that doesn't make me a shit mother either, just human. )

Hope your dd is ok. I probably would have called 111 when it happened but it’s hard for me to say as I wasn’t there. My dd has had a couple of small seizures, one at around the same age but was put down to a temperature after vaccinations and she has had a few absent seizures around the age of 10. Any kind of seizure activity is scary but it can often be put down to being unwell.

You are not remotely shit. This place is full of bitches

Jesus you're not fucking wrong. All these "I'm stunned!" and "why on earth are you posting here?" then all the others piling on. Bunch of pricks. Fuck off and leave op alone if you've nothing nice to say.

@Frik

You are not remotely shit. This place is full of bitches

Jesus you're not fucking wrong. All these "I'm stunned!" and "why on earth are you posting here?" then all the others piling on. Bunch of pricks. Fuck off and leave op alone if you've nothing nice to say.

Absolutely.

Hope your little girl is alright.
You sound a very caring mother.

It sounds like a seizure of some sort - as your dd got back to normal I agree it’s not A&E. you did well to call 111 and get the GP appt. one thing - DS gets like this when he’s hot and it usually has no relevance to how cold the room is. Suggest you put her to bed with just a vest on until the referral to a pediatrician.

I would also suggest that if you ever see this again, you try to film it. That's really helpful for medical professionals if they can't see what's happening at appointments.