Jamie Otis Details Son's Frightening Febrile Seizure: 'I Genuinely Thought He Was Dying'

Jamie Otis Details Son's Frightening Febrile Seizure: 'I Genuinely Thought He Was Dying'
Jamie Otis Details Son's Frightening Febrile Seizure: 'I Genuinely Thought He Was Dying'

Jamie Otis/Instagram

Jamie Otis is opening up about her son's health scare.

The Married at First Sight star, who appeared on the hit show's inaugural season, revealed in an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday that she worried her 2-year-old son Hendrix would die when he had a febrile seizure the night before.

"I genuinely thought he was dying," said Jamie, who shares Hendrix and daughter Henley, 4½, with husband Doug Hehner. "[It] was the scariest moment of my life with him."

"He's fine now," she added, explaining multiple doctors had told her that "as long as his vitals are back, he's okay." But she was still shaken. "This fertile seizure thing, I just never knew anybody who had them so I'm just kind of shocked.'

Hendrix has had febrile seizures in the past. The convulsions occur in young, healthy children and are triggered by a spike in body temperature, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms may include severe shaking, tightening of muscles, and staring.

RELATED: Jamie Otis' Son Hendrix Tests Positive for COVID: 'I Was in Absolute Shock'

Otis explained that she first noticed something was off with Hendrix after the family returned from hiking the badlands in South Dakota.

"He seemed completely fine during our hike," Otis said. "He wanted to be held which was off for him, but he had no signs of being even slightly sick. I wasn't sure if I was being 'paranoid' or 'anxious' but my mama instincts were telling me something was 'off' with him. I just wasn't sure what."

RELATED: Jamie Otis Shares Tearful Video After Talk with Therapist: 'A Glimpse Into My Reality

After eating dinner, Otis held Hendrix on the couch. "He felt a little warm to me so I checked his temperature," she wrote. "He had a mild fever of 101.4. We IMMEDIATELY gave him Tylenol because he's had febrile seizures before. I hoped we had caught it in time. Apparently, we did not."

This time wasn't the same as before, Otis said. "With his previous seizures he'd twitch a lot, moan lightly, and foam at the mouth a little or throw up a little. This time, his legs twitched briefly, his eyes had no focus and rolled to the back of his head, and then he stopped breathing for what seemed like forever."

"I tried to stay calm for my daughter, but when I looked down at my baby with a grey face, blue lips, a limp body — completely unresponsive, not even twitching — I lost it," she said. "I ran out of our RV and screamed 'help!!!!' like a maniac because I thought we'd need to do CPR."

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Hehner called 911. Once Hendrix became responsive and stable again, Otis said Hehner told her, "you have some instincts!"

The reality star went on to explain she said she shared Hendrix's story in hopes to help other moms out there.

"Mamas, even if you think you're being 'paranoid' or 'anxious' — trust your instincts," she said.