Bad Day

I woke up this morning and went to lunch in beautiful Tortilla Flat with my family. When we got back home, my mom went in for a nap, I went into my room and started finishing work on my last blog entry, and my step-father Bill watched TV on the front porch. After about an hour, I heard the dogs barking in the living room. They were barking a little more intensely than they usually do when they play, but I didn't think much of it. Thankfully, I decided to check on them anyway. When I got to the living room, I saw both dogs staring intently out the living room window with their ears up, looking alert. I glanced out the window to see Bill's chair tipped completely over, and Bill lying on his side in front of the table, convulsing. Then the adrenaline started rushing. I rushed outside yelling his name, but he was not responding. He was just shaking, and he had turned bluish-purple. I ran back into the house yelling for my mom as loud as I could and searching for the phone. I grabbed it, and my mom came out wondering what was wrong. I told her Bill was in a seizure, and she rushed outside yelling his name. I followed her, dialing 911 at the same time. She kept yelling his name, and the terror and helplessness in her voice, and the look on her face while she was doing it was probably one of the most heart-wrenching experiences I've had so far. I wasn't sure if he was breathing, but I knew the blue tint of his face wasn't a good sign. I rolled him on his back to start CPR, hoping that I would remember it correctly, all the while talking to 911. Fortunately, when he was on his back he started breathing. But he had no awareness. He was staring straight again and was not responding. His breathing was exaggerated, and he had a weird rustic colored saliva on his lips. (Had he bit his tongue? I still don't know.) The 911 operator instructed me to monitor his breathing while emergency personnel made their way to our house. Shortly after, two police arrived. We cleared the patio for the EMTs and firemen who were also on their way. They arrived very shortly afterward. Between the time I put Bill on his back and help arrived, he had gotten a little more responsive. Enough to fight with the EMTs as they tried to help him. Eventually, they had to strap him down to the gurney, heavily sedate him, and take him to the hospital where he is now with my mom. At this point, they have scanned his brain to look for signs of a stroke, but have found nothing. Now they are performing a CT scan on his lungs. And we are hoping for the best, but trying to prepare for the worst. I'm so glad we have smart dogs.