Addison Jesa, born June 26, was diagnosed with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (grade 2) following a very traumatic birth. The umbilibal cord was wrapped around Addison's neck (twice), cutting off both oxygen and blood flow. After a placental abruption, Addison lost what was estimated to be about half of her blood. A 43-minute resuscitation was required before her heart began beating and she started to breath on her own.
During Addison's 3-week stay in the NICU, her parents were told that she probably would not survive. Major organ failures are extremely common in HIE babies, and Addison was showing signs of several system failures. Addison was needing daily tansfusions of platelets or blood, sometimes both. Her kidneys had begun to shut down, and she was requiring oxygen constantly. Addison was kept on a hypothermic cooling blanket for the first three days of her life to try to preserve brain and organ functions. On the fourth day, Addison was returned to a normal body temperature and her parents and doctors waited to see whether she would live or die.
Slowly, doubt began to lift as Addison began doing better. Soon, doctors were telling her mom and dad that even though Addison would survive, she would likely have a major disability. It was possible that she would not ever learn how to walk, talk or even eat on her own. But she was alive.
After about a week in the NICU, doctors and nurses began uttering words like "amazing" and "miraculous". "Optimism" about Addison's long-term prognosis began to surface. Everyone seemed excited, and nurses from different wings of the hospital came in to see the "Miracle Baby". All of her systems were working; brain scans were coming back completely normal; she had even learned to breastfeed!
But there was a murmur in her heart...
After everything was going so well, her ECG results came back with bad news. Scans showed several holes in Addison's heart and an open vein that should have closed at birth, called a PDA. Some of the holes were of moderate size, and the PDA was large. There was enough blood flow through these holes that doctors felt that heart surgery was the best option.
In an attempt to allow Addison to gain as much weight as possible before surgery, doctors discharged her and let her go home for the first time after nearly 3 weeks in the NICU.
The following two months were filled with pediatricians, cardiologists, neurologists, developmental therapists, MRIs, EEGs, EKGs, blood tests, weight checks and countless phone followups. And slowly Addison's progress began to stop. She stopped gaining weight, she slept more and more, and it became very apparent that her heart was giving her problems.
At the next cardiologist appointment, doctors discovered another hole in her heart. They found out that the holes were actually getting bigger. The added blood flow had caused pulmonary hypertension. Her spleen and her liver were enlarged. Addison was going into congestive heart failure at 3 months old. Doctors scheduled her surgery immediately.
Two weeks later, Addison arrived at Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital in Portland. Surgeons planned to repair the valve and the two largest holes in her heart. At 7:30 am, Addison's mom and dad handed her off to the team of doctors for what was supposed to be a four to five hour surgery. Approximately an hour and a half later, Mom got a call. Surgeons wanted to meet with them.
The plan had changed after doctors found that the holes were beginning to repair themselves. Somehow, her body was finding the strength to do it on its own. They now felt that repairing the valve and leaving the rest to heal itself was the best course of action. The surgery would take less time, be less invasive, less risky, and would require a shorter post-op stay.
Three days after heart surgery, Addison was discharged again. Since then, she has continually been gaining weight and doing miraculously well. She loves to laugh and smile, will coo at whoever will listen to her and continues to meet normal physical milestones for her age group.
Addison was recently accepted by the Sparrow Clubs, and will officially be adopted as North Valley High School's sparrow on October 26th.
During Addison's 3-week stay in the NICU, her parents were told that she probably would not survive. Major organ failures are extremely common in HIE babies, and Addison was showing signs of several system failures. Addison was needing daily tansfusions of platelets or blood, sometimes both. Her kidneys had begun to shut down, and she was requiring oxygen constantly. Addison was kept on a hypothermic cooling blanket for the first three days of her life to try to preserve brain and organ functions. On the fourth day, Addison was returned to a normal body temperature and her parents and doctors waited to see whether she would live or die.
Slowly, doubt began to lift as Addison began doing better. Soon, doctors were telling her mom and dad that even though Addison would survive, she would likely have a major disability. It was possible that she would not ever learn how to walk, talk or even eat on her own. But she was alive.
After about a week in the NICU, doctors and nurses began uttering words like "amazing" and "miraculous". "Optimism" about Addison's long-term prognosis began to surface. Everyone seemed excited, and nurses from different wings of the hospital came in to see the "Miracle Baby". All of her systems were working; brain scans were coming back completely normal; she had even learned to breastfeed!
But there was a murmur in her heart...
After everything was going so well, her ECG results came back with bad news. Scans showed several holes in Addison's heart and an open vein that should have closed at birth, called a PDA. Some of the holes were of moderate size, and the PDA was large. There was enough blood flow through these holes that doctors felt that heart surgery was the best option.
In an attempt to allow Addison to gain as much weight as possible before surgery, doctors discharged her and let her go home for the first time after nearly 3 weeks in the NICU.
The following two months were filled with pediatricians, cardiologists, neurologists, developmental therapists, MRIs, EEGs, EKGs, blood tests, weight checks and countless phone followups. And slowly Addison's progress began to stop. She stopped gaining weight, she slept more and more, and it became very apparent that her heart was giving her problems.
At the next cardiologist appointment, doctors discovered another hole in her heart. They found out that the holes were actually getting bigger. The added blood flow had caused pulmonary hypertension. Her spleen and her liver were enlarged. Addison was going into congestive heart failure at 3 months old. Doctors scheduled her surgery immediately.
Two weeks later, Addison arrived at Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital in Portland. Surgeons planned to repair the valve and the two largest holes in her heart. At 7:30 am, Addison's mom and dad handed her off to the team of doctors for what was supposed to be a four to five hour surgery. Approximately an hour and a half later, Mom got a call. Surgeons wanted to meet with them.
The plan had changed after doctors found that the holes were beginning to repair themselves. Somehow, her body was finding the strength to do it on its own. They now felt that repairing the valve and leaving the rest to heal itself was the best course of action. The surgery would take less time, be less invasive, less risky, and would require a shorter post-op stay.
Three days after heart surgery, Addison was discharged again. Since then, she has continually been gaining weight and doing miraculously well. She loves to laugh and smile, will coo at whoever will listen to her and continues to meet normal physical milestones for her age group.
Addison was recently accepted by the Sparrow Clubs, and will officially be adopted as North Valley High School's sparrow on October 26th.
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