George Wright is a cheerful, funny two-year-old who loves playing with toy trucks and cars. In early January, George was sick with a fever that turned into a seizure when his fever quickly spiked and reached 103°.

His parents, Jane and Alexander Wright, were keeping a close eye on him and noticed he was zoning out while they were watching a movie. His mouth began turning blue and his breathing was becoming slow and erratic. They immediately called 911.

EMS quickly arrived and brought George to Medical City McKinney, a Level III Trauma Center and the closest hospital available to treat critically ill patients. Medical City McKinney provides pediatric emergency care in coordination with Medical City Children’s Hospital. The hospital’s staff and board-certified emergency medicine physicians are specially trained to provide families with the high-quality pediatric healthcare standards set by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association.

With George continuing to have seizures, his breathing became increasingly erratic and his oxygen levels dropped critically low. Brent Armstrong, MD, emergency medicine physician, intubated George to help to maintain his airways. Clinicians also administered medication to help neutralize the seizure activity.

The Wrights, having experienced the ER and pediatric oncology care with their daughter who died from a rare lung cancer five years earlier, were familiar with the instruments and medicine Dr. Armstrong and the team in the ER was using to treat George.

We shared our daughter’s medical background with him, and he knew that we knew more than the typical parents,” says Jane Wright, George’s mom. “Dr. Armstrong was incredible. He and the entire staff was so kind and kept us up-to-date on what was happening. We were so appreciative.”

Once stabilized, George was transferred by helicopter to a pediatric hospital in North Texas. His family says that tests there did not indicate a risk of future seizures.

“We moved to Texas from upstate New York three years ago and this was our first experience with Medical city McKinney,” Wright says. “Our experience was really good. They actually cared and wanted to know how George was doing, so once we were home, we sent Dr. Armstrong a postcard to show our appreciation.”

“That day, I spent several hours caring for George in our ER,” says Dr. Armstrong. “When the postcard arrived after George left our care, I had a sigh of relief, knowing that what we did that day made a difference. It’s was such a blessing to hear he was home and doing well.”

 A few weeks after returning home, George celebrated his third birthday and is back to being an active little boy that is running and playing with his siblings.