Brielle Miller's Journey

On September 5, 2017 at 7:19 pm a beautiful blue eyed baby girl, Brielle Marie Miller, was delivered into the world. Brielle is the daughter of Everett and Heather Miller. Just moments after she was born it was noticed that something was not right. She was having a very difficult time breathing, would not cry, and was starting to turn purple. She was immediately intubated and rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where she was placed on a ventilator. A feeding tube was also put into place. Brielle then went through various test and scans to determine what was going on. She was diagnosed with micrognathia as well as retrognathia (meaning that her chin and lower jaw are set back from the upper jaw). With the lower jaw set back it causes her tongue to be pushed toward the back of the throat blocking her airway (glossoptosis). It was also discovered that she has a cleft palate. On September 11, 2017 she was taken off the ventilator and put on regular oxygen, but was still having a very difficult time breathing. Brielle had to be placed on her side or belly at all times to allow her tongue to fall forward and open her airway. Once she was off of the ventilator she was able to attempt feeding with the bottle, but it was unsuccessful. Brielle had an extremely difficult time breathing, especially when feeding, which would cause her heart rate and oxygen to continuously drop. At this point she was starting to lose weight due to the struggle while trying to eat. After 28 days in NICU in Lake Charles, the doctors felt it would be in Brielle’s best interest to be transported to a hospital that is more equipped to handle her condition. On October 3, 2017 Brielle was airlifted to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans where a team of doctors where awaiting her arrival. Once Brielle arrived they immediately began a series of extensive testing to determine the best course of treatment. Some of the various test include CAT scan, upper GI, sleep study, lab work, X-ray, etc. Doctors determined that Brielle would need multiple operations to open her airway as well as repair her cleft palate. On October 19, 2017 Brielle underwent her first major operation. They began by running a scope to check for other obstructions of the air way. Brielle was placed back on a ventilator. The doctors broke Brielle’s jaw in two places. They added metal plates and pins to pull the jaw bone apart which would allow new bone to form in between. This will extend the lower jaw and tongue forward allowing her airway to open up. A gastrostomy tube, a more permanent feeding tube, was inserted through the abdomen straight to the stomach for more efficient feeding. The next morning a series of lab work was drawn up and it was discovered that Brielle had lost too much blood during surgery. Immediately, a blood transfusion was performed on Brielle. The week following surgery she was diagnosed with a pseudomonas bacterial infection (tracheitis). The infection is currently being treated with antibiotics. Doctors are continuing to keep Brielle comfortable while awaiting her next surgery which will take place in six weeks. The second surgery will be to remove the metal pieces that were previously placed in the jaw. Brielle will undergo a third surgery around twelve months of age to repair her cleft palate. At this point Everett and Heather are unsure of what the future holds. They have been in New Orleans 27 days and it is uncertain how long they will be there. They have been staying between hospitals for 2 months and counting. We are raising money to help Everett and Heather cover expenses such as medical bills, traveling, food, hotels, work missed, etc. Everett and Heather are very kind hearted/giving individuals. Any donation to their little family would be greatly appreciated.