On March 5, 2025, Alison and Jimmy Mathieu’s 10-month-old son James came home from daycare with a fever of 102.4 degrees Fahrenheit. When Jimmy went to check on James during a nap, he found the baby having a seizure and immediately called 911. Alison and Jimmy knew time was of the essence to get him to the ER.
Upon arrival at their home, Frisbie Memorial Hospital paramedics found James critically ill, actively seizing. They were able to stop the seizure and stabilize James on their way to Frisbie, but he began having seizures again shortly after arriving at the ER.
“James was very ill when he arrived at our emergency department and he required all hands-on deck from our team,” said Dr. Carly Shiembob, chair of emergency medicine and director of emergency department at Frisbie Memorial Hospital.
James was then stabilized and Dr. Shiembob advised the parents that James would need to be airlifted to Boston Children’s Hospital to be seen by the neurology team.
“James initially wasn’t responding to the medication for the seizure, and I was in a blind panic,” Alison said. “The care team at Frisbie, especially Dr. Shiembob, was so comforting and supportive, answering all of my questions and assuring us they would be able to stabilize James. And nurse Lindsay kept my 3-year-old daughter Ivy occupied so we could focus on James.”
“In just over an hour, we had James stabilized and on a med-flight to Boston Children’s Hospital,” Dr. Shiembob said. “This is no small feat for a community hospital. Our EMS team plays an integral role in our emergency department, not only providing pre-hospital care and transport, but also staying actively involved after arrival and supporting the transition of care in the ED. When not responding to 911 emergencies, they are working alongside us in the ED, caring for the very patients they transport to us. We are one of the only hospitals in New Hampshire with this model and it makes a huge difference in the quality of care we are able to provide.”
“The communication and efficiency of care between Frisbie and Boston Children’s Hospital was seamless,” Alison said. “James was taken right in with this complex seizure and ended up being at the Boston hospital for two nights. I could not believe how quickly he was stabilized at Frisbie and transported to Boston.”
James has since recovered, but still sees a pediatric neurologist as febrile seizures can occur anytime a fever spikes too quickly. James had another seizure recently, but the Mathieus now have medication at home to administer when seizures arise.
“Febrile seizures usually happen early in an illness when a child’s temperature rises quickly,” Dr. Shiembob said. “While they can be frightening to witness, febrile seizures typically last only a few minutes, stop on their own and do not cause long-term health issues. However, parents should always seek medical attention if their child experiences a seizure of any kind to rule out more serious causes of the seizure and to manage the fever appropriately.”
A few weeks later the Mathieu family came back to visit the team.
“Coming back to see the team that cared for James means a lot to us,” Alison said. “The entire Frisbie team truly cared for my son and were wonderful. Through this experience I learned bedside experience is very important, and everyone at Frisbie was truly great with providing an exceptional experience, caring and supporting us physically and emotionally.”
“One of the truly special aspects of our department is the incredible teamwork and ability to come together quickly and efficiently around the highest-acuity patients,” Dr. Shiembob said. “In critical situations, providers, nurses, techs, and EMS personnel rapidly converge to deliver coordinated, high-level care. This seamless collaboration ensures that no time is wasted and every angle of patient care is covered.”
The Mathieu family, who live in Rochester, New Hampshire, feel comforted knowing the hospital is close to home when needed.
“We’re incredibly grateful to Frisbie and the entire care team that treated him and our family so well,” Alison said. “We are always on high alert monitoring James and he’ll continue to see a neurologist for appointments. But knowing Frisbie is our hospital in Rochester, it’s a comforting feeling knowing we are in good hands.”