To be furious

[Threelittleduck]

How has the NHS come to this? My DD had a seizure in the summer. We went to hospital but discharged later.
Nothing has happened but today she had two seizures. One at around 9 and one an hour ago. Called ambulance after her seizure at 9, they said it would be hours for an ambulance but 4 hours? After she's had a second seizure? I can't drive her as had a Covid jab yesterday and am feeling sick and dizzy and DH has been drinking.
I mean thank fuck it's not life threatening! (I know she'd be higher priority before anyone takes that seriously).
She's asleep on the sofa now and I'm sat with her, feeling tired, ill and worried about DD
Is this what the country has come to? Is that government actually going to do anything to help our healthcare system and support those who work in it.

Of course we need more of nearly everything in the NHS but really this is on you. Ex h liked a drink so I wouldn't drink at all in case my dc were ill in the night as I'd want to be the one to take them. You feel crap, he should not have been drinking just in case.

Or, the daughter would begin to fit in the car, she could bang her head, or knock into the driver. The driver would be distracted and could cause an accident.

That can be managed by one adult in the backseat with DD and one in the passenger seat reassuring the driver. DD can be seated on towels on bin liners and just throw them at the hospital on taxi exit. If there is vomit the driver will/can add a cleaning/out of service fee. All of this is a non-issue if you really need to get someone to hospital in an emergency.

Some of the pp’s on here have no idea of seizures.
My bil has them and they’re really scary and my dsis could not use a taxi for him whilst he’s post fit as he really isn’t with it, is likely to fall over and hurt himself.
A 16 year old would be similar I expect, she’s not a small dc.

Hope your dd is getting proper treatment @Threelittleduck .

A seizure can absolutely be life or death.

No one is saying that. Grow up.

Nobody is missing the point. If you're a parent and worried that your child might die if they don't get to hospital urgently and the amblance can't get there you don't just sit there and bitch to internet strangers about it and wait for your child to die. You find a way to get them there. If they worsen in a taxi/friend's car you call 999 and they will make the ambulance more urgent.

By all means complain about the ambulance service. However this doesn't absolve you from the responsibility of keeping your own child safe. You have to use your common sense and problem solve a bit.

Really this is a parenting issue.

Why an earth was one of your drinking when the other couldn't drive if you know she's prone to seizures? One of my children can have seizures and need rushing to a&e at any given moment one of us is always sober & ready to drive just incase.
We all know the ambulances are rubbish and take hours, it's been like this for over a decade.

I do hope your DD is okay though.

Sorry you have had some shitty comments on here OP. You could have told us that your daughter's leg was hanging off and someone on here would have told you just put a plaster on it and ring GP in the morning instead of calling an ambulance.

@Threelittleduck I'm sorry that you have had some horrible posters replying to you. Some people just have no idea that "just get a taxi" is not easy. Taxi services where I live are not plentiful.

I hope your DD is OK and can be successfully treated

@MeMyCatsAndI But her DD isn’t ’prone to seizures’. She had one seizure back in the summer. All medical professionals then tell you that everyone is ‘allowed’ one seizure, that it can be one of those things and that it’s nothing to worry about and chances are she’ll never have another.
My DD unfortunately did go on to have more seizures, a few weeks after her first one, but they don’t tell you to change your life and watch out for more after just one.

But seemingly not too dizzy to post on MN to moan about the NHS whilst her child is having seizures or to argue with other posters.

We live in a time now where ambulances can't just come and scoop everybody up. So unless someone isn't breathing you need a plan b. The amount of posts on here about how people can't get themselves or kids to the hospital is crazy. This is the stuff you need to plan for.

Are you always this lacking in empathy?

It is entirely possible to use a phone while at the same time feeling too dizzy/unsafe to drive. Also, if my child was having several seizures I would need another adult in the car with me while I was driving to keep an eye on her.

The only thing I don't understand is why the husband couldn't keep an eye on his DD while the OP got dressed and rang for a taxi.

Was he so drunk that he had passed out?

This. Whatever the situation the NHS is in, this is on two parents.

A lot of this is now irrelevant because an ambulance did come and presumably mum and daughter are in hospital.

There's no point having a go at the op, she was unable to drive and couldn't risk the girl having another fit in a taxi.

As for dad having a drink, he may have had a couple with mates in the pub and wouldn't have anticipated his daughter fitting again, it's not like she has them all the time. This was totally unexpected.

What is now important is that the op's daughter is properly investigated. Let's hope this happens and some reason given for the fits, and treatment, but it's unlikely to happen overnight. It isn't uncommon for teenagers to fit, they often outgrow it. It can happen because of an accident, banging the head, and sometimes people bang their heads and forget about it because it doesn't seem serious at the time. There are all sorts of other reasons too and often none that can be found so they may come home again with no clear solution.

Let's not add to the op's worry, she has enough on her plate at the moment.

I’m a bit surprised at the comments saying that you should have taken her in a taxi. What if she’d had a seizure in the taxi?

Agree your DH shouldn’t be drinking in the middle of the day though.

You both need to take some responsibility. Husband shouldn’t be drinking when you are child are both ill. Really can’t understand why you can’t take a taxi. You are making excuses. The NHS is struggling because people waste their resources.

I am saying this with hindsight where the 16 year old is now at hospital and being sorted.

I would have been straight in a cab and taking care of my child not arguing with strangers on the Internet dizzy or not.

I think people need to leave her alone.

I hope your daughter is okay x

An ambulance would have the medical facilities available if she had a fit on the way. A taxi, neighbours car, OP car would not.

thats why she needs an ambulance. Blaming the OP and her partner gets them nowhere. Support in an anxious situation is what is needed here.

A patient having seizures is a very good reason for an ambulance.

Last year my son tried to kill himself. I was told, by a doctor, not to drive him to hospital as he might have died en route. Doctor called an ambulance, the wait time was 6 hours. I drove DS to hospital, worried sick that he might die.
When my husband was dying in our house the ambulance arrived about 5 minutes after the call, so I can't complain about that. But the NHS, in general, is in crisis. I won't go into its treatment, or lack of treatment, for my son since he tried to end his life, but suffice to say, I believe that it's irreparable. It's gatekeeping. And people are being harmed.
I'm sorry you were so distressed OP, hope things improve.

It was the evening.

Is your DH this child's biological father?

When she had her first seizure, did he stop drinking and try to sober up?

What was he doing throughout this episode?

Ah ok. That’s not so unusual tbf.