It was hard to stand there in the trauma room and watch everything that the doctors were doing to try and save Ashley's life. We were both sobbing and saying silent prayers that everything was going to be alright for our baby girl. The staff did an amazing job, and Ashley, now heavily sedated, was breathing again with the help of a respirator.
They moved Tammy and I into a more comfortable room adjacent to the trauma room, from which we could still see Ashley, and from there we called the grandparents to let them know what was going on. The doctors had told us that they were pretty sure Ashley was having heart problems, so they were going to do an echo cardiogram to try and find out exactly what the problem was. They moved her to the ICU, and we waited in a waiting room until they were finished doing the ultrasound. While we waited, my parents and my brother Trevor came to the hospital to help me administer, and to administer to me, some much needed priesthood blessings.
After some time, a cardiologist came in to the waiting room and told us that there were several issues with Ashley's heart, and he was pretty sure it was a case of myocarditis. He went on to say that they needed to take another look in the morning, but that the best case scenario would be treatment through medication, and that the worst case scenario would be a heart transplant. The worst case scenario for a heart transplant would be that a heart wouldn't become available, and Ashley wouldn't make it. We were all pretty stunned by what he was telling us, since it had barely been 12 hours since we brought her in thinking she might have the flu.
They moved Tammy and I into a more comfortable room adjacent to the trauma room, from which we could still see Ashley, and from there we called the grandparents to let them know what was going on. The doctors had told us that they were pretty sure Ashley was having heart problems, so they were going to do an echo cardiogram to try and find out exactly what the problem was. They moved her to the ICU, and we waited in a waiting room until they were finished doing the ultrasound. While we waited, my parents and my brother Trevor came to the hospital to help me administer, and to administer to me, some much needed priesthood blessings.
After some time, a cardiologist came in to the waiting room and told us that there were several issues with Ashley's heart, and he was pretty sure it was a case of myocarditis. He went on to say that they needed to take another look in the morning, but that the best case scenario would be treatment through medication, and that the worst case scenario would be a heart transplant. The worst case scenario for a heart transplant would be that a heart wouldn't become available, and Ashley wouldn't make it. We were all pretty stunned by what he was telling us, since it had barely been 12 hours since we brought her in thinking she might have the flu.
He left us after answering all of our questions, and then we were allowed to go in and see Ashley again. She was unconscious, and connected to a lot of tubes, but she was resting finally, and her vital signs, which were largely being controlled at this point, all seemed really good. There was room for one of us to stay the night, so after a long time standing beside Ashley's bed, I left with my family, and Tammy stayed there with her through the night. It was hard to leave, but she was pretty stabilized at that point, and one of us needed to get back to Emma, who was at my parents house with her Auntie Sam.
The next morning, I got a call from Tammy saying that another cardiologist had come in, and that she had done another echo cardiogram on Ashley, and that they had discovered a coarctation along her aorta, which was the apparent cause of all the problems she was having with her heart. It was operable, but she was going to have to be flown up to Edmonton to have the surgery done there. I dropped what I was doing (packing as we were moving the next day - more on that later), and got to the hospital just in time to meet with Dr. Harder, the cardiologist, as she explained the issues Ashley was having with her heart as well as the procedure they were going to perform in Edmonton to help correct them.
I could tell as she explained everything, that she was being very careful not to try and frighten us, but truth be told, finding out that the problem could be fixed, and that it was a fairly routine procedure, was the best news we had heard since we came to hospital, so we became very happy and hopeful people. Tammy's Mom and her sister's Kelly and Kimberly came by the hospital to see Ashley before she was to leave, and my brother Trevor, along with my brother in-law Tyler came to help me give her another blessing as well. We stayed there with Ashley as they moved her from her bed to the stretcher, and walked with the ambulance drivers and the transport team down to the ambulance that would take her to the airport. Watching that ambulance drive away was heart breaking, but we knew she was in good hands, and under the Lord's watchful eye, so we took comfort in that and got out of there as fast as we could.
The next morning, I got a call from Tammy saying that another cardiologist had come in, and that she had done another echo cardiogram on Ashley, and that they had discovered a coarctation along her aorta, which was the apparent cause of all the problems she was having with her heart. It was operable, but she was going to have to be flown up to Edmonton to have the surgery done there. I dropped what I was doing (packing as we were moving the next day - more on that later), and got to the hospital just in time to meet with Dr. Harder, the cardiologist, as she explained the issues Ashley was having with her heart as well as the procedure they were going to perform in Edmonton to help correct them.
I could tell as she explained everything, that she was being very careful not to try and frighten us, but truth be told, finding out that the problem could be fixed, and that it was a fairly routine procedure, was the best news we had heard since we came to hospital, so we became very happy and hopeful people. Tammy's Mom and her sister's Kelly and Kimberly came by the hospital to see Ashley before she was to leave, and my brother Trevor, along with my brother in-law Tyler came to help me give her another blessing as well. We stayed there with Ashley as they moved her from her bed to the stretcher, and walked with the ambulance drivers and the transport team down to the ambulance that would take her to the airport. Watching that ambulance drive away was heart breaking, but we knew she was in good hands, and under the Lord's watchful eye, so we took comfort in that and got out of there as fast as we could.
1 comment:
Oh Mike and Tammy!! I've seen you guys a couple times but I've been a little afraid to ask how things are because I didn't want to have a cry right there. I can't imagine how stressful all that must have been! You've been in our prayers and we're so glad that Ashley is doing better.
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