On April 22, after a few short hours, Breckin was out of surgery and recovering well. The surgeons came and spoke with us and said the repair went great and there were no complications. We were told we would have a five to seven-day hospital stay, and then would be heading home. Well, we knew that based on our history with our little girl, we would probably not have the conventional week-long stay like most patients. We were thinking maybe more like ten days to two weeks.
Six days after Breckin's surgery, her condition started to deteriorate pretty rapidly. She spiked a 102 degree fever, her oxygen saturation was dipping into the 60s and not recovering even while on oxygen, and she was very agitated and pretty much inconsolable. We were woken up from sleep by our nurse, telling us that they were going to have to reintubate Breckin. They had tried every other measure to avoid this, but it had to be done to keep her alive.
After a few hours, our surgeon and the attending cardiologist spoke with us and told us that they were taking Breckin into the cath lab. Her echo showed that her heart function was not great, and they were worried that her coronary artery could be the problem. The doctor that would be doing her heart cath told us that if it was the coronary artery, this could be a tricky situation since hers is about the size of a hair. When the anesthesiologist came to get Breckin, he looked at her sats, looked at me, and said, "This is serious." He told me she could stroke out, have a heart attack, have brain damage, etc. because she was so unstable. Then, I heard the words, "septic shock," and "ECMO." For those of you that don't know, ECMO is a machine that does the work of the heart and lungs. It is basically a last-ditch effort for babies to survive when all other means have failed.
There was a moment in that hospital room, when I was watching all these people around my baby, that I thought I was going to lose her. This was the second time in Breckin's short life that I was preparing myself to not be taking her home. I know that God is faithful and has a plan for her life, but I also know that she is ultimately His child. He gave her to me to care for, but He can also take her away. I was wanting to believe that He would bring her through this, but I also wanted to be realistic and prepare myself for the worst. After I had a chance to process all this, I posted an update on facebook so that I could get as many people praying for Breckin as I could. I cannot even tell you the amount of prayer warriors that came together to plead with the Father on her behalf. My post alone was shared by 30 people! God heard everyone's prayers and was in control in that cath lab.
The doctors came to talk to us after the procedure was over and said that Breckin did great! She maintained her oxygen level, and there were no complications. They said her coronary artery was normal, and the heart repair from her surgery looked perfect! I silently praised Jesus, and then I hugged Dr. Kumar and thanked him profusely for the good news. I was truly overwhelmed by the peace that I felt and I could not send up enough praise to the Lord. I knew that Breckin was going to be okay, and that we would be taking her home.
She still had a tough road ahead of her due to her getting a urinary tract infection and pneumonia. They later discovered that these infections were what led to everything going downhill. Two more weeks were spent in the cardiac ICU, and finally the day came when Breckin could be transferred to the floor! I have to say, I was a little sad. The nurses had taken such great care of Breckin, and of us. I just felt like they had come to know us, and we had gotten close to several of them. I knew this was the next step towards getting us home, but I would definitely miss everyone in the CVICU.
After 29 long days, Breckin's hospital stay was finally at an end! Her stubborn left lung kept us there another week on the floor, and we had to go home on oxygen. However, we got to go home! One of our surgeons told me on the day of discharge to just take my baby and run-before anything else happened to keep us there. I was almost so exhausted that I couldn't even be excited. It was more than just sleep-deprivation, although that was a big part of it. But, it was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting to go through so many ups and downs.
Although this hospital stay was tough, it has truly made me appreciate so many wonderful "normal" parts of our life. Just being a family of four and seeing my two girls interact with each other, is amazing to me. I just bask in the everyday, mundane details of our lives, because for so much of Breckin's life, it has not been this way.
I truly feel so incredibly blessed to have this precious baby girl as part of our family. She continues to amaze me every single day. She has been through considerably more in her short five months than most people will go through in their entire life. Despite all the obstacles stacked against her, she continues to smile through the days. God has truly blessed her with so much more strength than I probably ever will have. This little girl is my hero, and I still cannot believe that God picked me to be her mom.
Love,
Brooke
Right after surgery
