Remembering...

Its hard to forget what we were doing a year ago today. There are constant reminders everyday of how lucky we are.

We brought Brenley in to the Mankato ER on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009. She was so sleepy (more than a typical 15 day old baby) would not wake to eat, had a fever and her chest would retract when she took breathes. After horrible attempts at blood draws, chest xrays, and talk of a spinal tap, they discovered she had RSV. We were admitted to ISJ Hospital in Mankato and were told to expect to be there for a few days. At this point I thought the worst was over with.

The next day, Brenley wasn't improving at all. She was not taking feeds and her oxygen levels were low. They put her on oxygen and began to talk about what was next in the plan. A decision was made late Wednesday afternoon to transport Brenley to Children's Hospital, just so she could be in better hands. Because her labs came came back with some dangerous CO2 levels (she wasn't outputting enough carbon dioxide) the team at Children's told ISJ they would like her intubated (breathing tube put in) before the helicopter came. Did I mention they were taking her by helicopter! It gets sketchy here, but the Dr in Mankato didn't seem to excited about doing the intubation. She said something along the lines of "why waste our tubes, when they are just going to re-do it when she gets there." Children's was adamant it be done, saying it's much easier to do it now, rather than in the air if something happened. So it was set that she would be put on the ventilator before the helicopter got there. As we waited, Ryan, my mom, and I got our things ready to head to Minneapolis (we would have to drive ourselves there). It seemed to be taking forever. We got a few updates, they were trying to sedate her, medicine made her more alert, still waiting and then it happened...

When I think about it, I still feel exactly the way I did a year ago. My knees get weak, I struggle to breath and my eyes fill up with tears. Over the intercom a CODE BLUE was called. Flashing lights were blinking on the door to Brenley's room. Seriously, 50 people came running to the room. Probably everyone in the hospital. And they all stood there, watching me collapse to the ground outside her room. The only people that would talk to us was the Hospital Social Worker and a few nurses. The social worker asked if we wanted them to call someone, and if wanted the Chaplain to come. At this point I was sure my daughter was dead. No one told us what was happening for at least 15 minutes. The Chaplain came and we prayed. Finally a nurse came in and told us the Dr's were able to stop doing chest compressions and the breathing tube was in place. She was getting ready to go to the helicopter but we could see her before she left. We later found out they did chest compressions for 6 minutes.
The drive to the cities felt impossible, but we did it. I even drove. I needed to focus on that, so I didn't think about anything else. Mary Ellen, Nate and Heidi went to Children's right away so family would be there when she arrived. We got a call from them, and the helicopter team saying they arrived safely and Brenley was doing ok.

Things weren't smooth sailing once we were at Children's (she ended up having that spinal tap), but I felt safe the whole time we were there. We spent nearly 2 weeks at Children's Hospital. 9 of those days Brenley was in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) and on a ventilator to help her breath. It was a slow process, especially since it was over Christmas, and the hospital had visitor restrictions due to the H1N1 outbreak. Brody was not allowed to come to the hospital so most of the time Ryan and Grandpa were home with him, and my mom and I were in the cities with Brenley.
She was discharged on the 30th and we began 2010 as a family, together! I can't 100% say she will have no long lasting effects from this, but it is looking good. We have been to Children's multiple times for check-ups and they are doing what they can to keep Brenley from getting sick this winter. Fine with me, can we get that same treatment for Brody: )

We are so thankful for the doctors and nurses at Children's Hospital along with all of our family and friends who helped us along the way. All the visits, calls, thoughts and prayers really helped us get through those two weeks.

We will never forget Brenley's rough start, she reminds us daily that she is a force to be reckoned with!