Former Olympian Gian Rooney has taken to Instagram to describe her little daughter’s terrifying medical emergency – and call for all parents to learn infant CPR.
When Rooney’s 11-month-old daughter Lexi suffered a seizure during the night, her husband performed CPR while Rooney called an ambulance.
“Both Sam and I did an infant CPR course when Zander was born and last night, despite the panic, it all kicked back in,” Rooney wrote. “So please, if you have children or are around kids often, brush up on your CPR skills, hoping you never need it, but prepared if you do.”
Lexi was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital, where she was diagnosed with experiencing a febrile convulsion, Rooney explained in a second post.
“[Febrile convulsion’ is not all that uncommon in children up to the age of 6 (1 in 30) like a lot of you have told me,” she writes. “Whilst utterly terrifying when are faced with your child firstly having a seizure, then lying in your husband’s arms like a rag doll, limp and unresponsive, there’s a reason for it.”
“This is a child’s way of dealing with a sudden spike or drop in their temperature – the body shuts down to protect the brain,” she continues. “Febrile convulsions are not harmful and have no long term effects on the child (not sure about the parent though) so it is important to not panic, make sure your child is in a safe place/position and that their airways are clear.”
Rooney used her second post to stress how thankful she was that she and her husband had done a CPR course (they did theirs through Kidz Aid Australia) and thank the paramedics, 000 operators, doctors and nurses who looked after her daughter.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
