I haven't written in quite a while although most of you who read this blog have probably been keeping up with us through Facebook. Back in January of this year, I was getting ready to start classes in the nursing program at Lee College in Baytown and Analeigh was doing great. Little did we know that life was about to throw us some major curve balls.
First, Michael and I discovered that we were expecting again. It was a surprise, to say the least, but I wasn't going to let it slow me down as far as my classes were concerned. Right around the time classes began, the morning sickness had begun to set in which presented a challenge but not one that would be allowed to throw a monkey wrench into my plans. Not like what was to come, anyway.
Following my Thursday evening class on January 21, I made it home around 5pm. Michael came in from work shortly thereafter and we both sat down to relax in front of the TV. I had received a good report about Analeigh's day and she was sleeping peacefully as the nurse got her 6pm bottle ready. After a little while, we heard Analeigh throwing a bit of a fit and unsure as to whether or not she was merely playing with her toys or actually fussing, Michael got up to go in and check on her. She suddenly turned blue as the nurse held her trying to console her and stopped breathing.
As our CPR efforts were unsuccessful, 911 was called and paramedics arrived on scene shortly thereafter. They continued working on her but remained unsuccessful for an additional 20-30 minutes before getting a pulse back. She was life-flighted to Children's Memorial Hermann in Houston and admitted into their PICU. Her vitals were stable when we arrived there but she was completely non-responsive to any kind of stimulation. Soon, she was given sedatives in an effort to keep her calm while it was being determined whether or not she had suffered any kind of permanent damage from the incident.
An MRI and EEG confirmed our worst fears.... she had suffered extensive brain damage due to the lack of oxygen flow to her brain. It was unclear what the outcome was going to be or even the full extent of the damage. After spending 3 days at Children's Memorial, we had her moved to Clear Lake Regional in Webster (which was where she was born and spent the first 6 months of her life). Later, their chest x-rays showed no sign of aspiration (where the ones at Children's Memorial had) but revealed even more damage to the brain than had been seen on the first MRI. Each EEG seemed to show less promise than the one before and to this day, it still remains unclear as to what her final prognosis will be.
As far as what happened... the doctors can't really say. It is believed, however, that a mucus plug or similar obstruction blocked her trach and made it impossible for her to breath (also hampering our CPR efforts). There is nothing that can really be done to prevent a similar incident from happening (with the exception of prayer) again. After spending a month in the PICU at Clear Lake Regional, Analeigh finally came back home on February 22.
Since then, it has been a lot of doctor's appointments and such that keeps us all very busy. Analeigh is currently suffering from what is called Sympathetic Storming due to the anoxic brain injury. The "storming" consists of hypertension (high blood pressure), tachycardia (extremely elevated heart rate), posturing (the involuntary extension/flexion of her arms and legs), and diaphoresis (clammy skin, excessive sweating). She is on several medications in an effort to control her level of agitation which include Clonidine, Phenobarbital, and Diazepam (Valium). The medications do not always work like they should and there are periods of time where she suffers from an extremely rapid respiratory rate, high heart rate and high temperature. During these times, all we can do to help her is change her position in the bed or give her ibuprofen/tylenol.
She is still getting physical therapy 3 days a week but she is now being fed through a G-button (a tube inserted into her abdominal wall for nutritional purposes). She still does not respond much to visual stimulation but more to sound and touch. Her tone has begun to decrease (which is great) which means she is becoming a bit more relaxed physically. Right now, we are just doing the best we can to keep her comfortable and as healthy as possible.
The new baby is coming along well so far. I'm 14.5 weeks as of today and due September 11. Dr. Rowe informed me that it will be a BOY, so his name will be Jayden Michael. Right now, we're just hoping and praying for a healthy full-term baby. :)
Please keep us all in your prayers. Analeigh is in need of a miracle and we need as many people as possible to believe for that with us. Thank you to all who have offered their love and support during this difficult time in our lives. We appreciate each and every one of you!
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