Giaan Rooney tells of the terrifying moment her toddler stopped breathing and turned blue.

The former Olympic swimmer shared how she and husband Sam Levett, saved the life of their 11-month-old daughter, Alexa, performing CPR after she “had a seizure, stopped breathing and turned blue,” on Tuesday.

She shared their frightening experience in an Instagram post on Wednesday in which she said she’d called the ambulance while Levett performed CPR.

Last night was the most terrifying moment of my life. Our 11 month old, #lexilevett had a seizure, stopped breathing & turned blue… My amazing husband @theherdonline gave Lexi CPR as I called an ambulance & talked to the operator… we are still in hospital but out of danger, just waiting on test results as they believe she has a virus which caused her temp to rise dramatically, causing the seizure… Both Sam & I did an Infant CPR Course when Zander was born & last night, despite the panic, it all kicked back in… 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. ???????? #emergencyroom #infantcpr #worstmomentofmylife #perspective

A post shared by Giaan Rooney (@giaan.rooney) on May 22, 2018 at 6:52pm PDT

Febrile convulsion

Giaan later shared, “Firstly, what Lexi had is called a ‘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.

Whilst utterly terrifying when you are faced with your child firstly having a seizure, then lying in your husbands arms like a rag doll, limp & unresponsive, there is 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 – and resets the system.

In Lexi’s case we just thought she was teething & she never felt hot until she had the seizure, the ambulance officers took her temp & it was 38.9C.

‘Febrile Convulsions’ in most cases are not harmful & 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 & that their airways are clear.

We are home, Lexi is grizzly with a viral infection & a slight temp but otherwise her usual self, & we are all desperate for some sleep, but we are grateful & lucky.

Giaan added an important message for all parents.

“Thank goodness Sam and I did an infant CPR course as even in the most extreme panic of our lives, something triggered that knowledge.” 

“Both Sam & I did an Infant CPR Course when Zander was born & last night, despite the panic, it all kicked back in … 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.”

Due to the incredible amount of love, prayers, concern & support we have received in the wake of our little girls’ medical emergency I wanted to update you all on what we have learnt – as it could really help a parent/carer in the same situation. Firstly, what Lexi had is called a ‘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. Whilst utterly terrifying when you are faced with your child firstly having a seizure, then lying in your husbands arms like a rag doll, limp & unresponsive, there is 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 – and resets the system. In Lexi’s case we just thought she was teething & she never felt hot until she had the seizure, the ambulance officers took her temp & it was 38.9C. ‘Febrile Convulsions’ in most cases are not harmful & 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 & that their airways are clear. Once again, I cannot express my gratitude enough that Sam & I had done a CPR course when Zander was young. We did ours through @kidzaid_australia but there are many organisations & avenues to learn infant/child CPR, another great one around the country is @tinyheartsfirstaid but just search for a certified course near you. Thirdly, once again I have been reminded of the amazing-ness of Paramedics, 000 Operators, Doctors, Nurses & health care professionals who look after us & our babies, you are all rockstars. ???????? We are home, Lexi is grizzly with a viral infection & a slight temp but otherwise her usual self, & we are all desperate for some sleep, but we are grateful & lucky. Thank you all so much for your comments, prayers, advice & love, it means so much ???? #febrileconvulsion #infantcpr #healthprofessionalsrock #parentsnightmare #infanthealth #medicalscare ????????????‍⚕️????????‍⚕️????

A post shared by Giaan Rooney (@giaan.rooney) on May 23, 2018 at 3:25am PDT

So glad everything turned out OK. It is so frightening when your child is unwell.

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