Mi-Rha, Jamie and baby Mikayla

Mikayla (Danbi) was born on Jan 4, 2015.   Unfortunately, her mother experienced a brain hemorrhage, right after her c section. Her mother did not get a chance to hold her baby, which made the nurses cry.

The family needs your help and prayers. 

All donations to this fund will be directed to health costs for Mi-Rha and everyday care costs for baby Mikayla that are not covered by OHIP/insurance.

Since January 4, 2015, Mikayla’s mother has been fighting for her life.. 

This is her story....

During Mi-Rha's pregnancy, she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and hypertension and was on medication.

JAN 3 (evening) - admitted in hospital due to very high blood pressure headaches and abdominal pain, an emergency C section was performed. 

DAY ONE Jan 4 2015
12:48 am:
Mikayla Danbi was delivered and Mi-Rha suffers from a brain hemorrhage. Mi-Rha did not get a chance to hold her baby, which made the nurses cry.  Danbi (and a few family members) stays in hospital, until late afternoon, when they transfered her so that she is able to reunite with her mom at a downtown hospital. 

3:00 am:
Two surgeries are performed on Mi-Rha to stop the bleeding.  

DAY 1
The longer Mi-Rha stays unconscious, the more her cognitive and functional capabilities diminish.

DAY 4
She has been showing irritation whenever the nurses touch her. These are intentional and not reactionary movements. Her family members are so encouraged by her progress. Her swelling has gone and she looks a bit more like herself.  

DAY 7
Two issues: 1. the brain sickness, 2. high blood pressure. Between the two of them, the priority is the brain sickness.They will do an MRI and will check to see if the brain stem is preserved. If it is, it will then lead to a better recovery.

Realistically, it could a couple of more weeks for Mi-Rha to gain consciousness. Despite our timelines and what medical science would have to say, we serve a big God that has His own timelines, his own purposes and His own ways, which ultimately will give Him the glory. 

DAY 9
A nurse said they will take her off her painkillers for a couple of days. They are hoping that this will help wake her up.

DAY 10
Mi-Rha’s health - she has infection in the lungs (due to the breathing tube) and infection in the blood and urine. – please pray that the infection will be flushed out of her body. Also, pray against pneumonia, seizures and fever (she's running a bit of a temperature)

DAY 11
The nursing staff in the ICU just loves Mi-Rha   Apparently, she is their most popular patient because she has the most number of visitors. The nursing staff really encourage it, so please don't stop coming.  They are all rooting for Mi-Rha to recover!  How encouraging is that?  

DAY 12
A tracheotomy was successfully performed on Mi-Rha, today.   I saw Mi-Rha's eyes open and move for the first time, today. Her father was so encouraged by the fact that her eyes followed in the direction of their voice. 

DAY 13
Baby Mikayla  has been admitted into NICU because she has not been eating enough. She has been vomiting and is suffering with diarrhea. She is currently on an IV. Tests have been done and we're waiting for results. Please pray for healing and an appetite to develop.

Mi-Rha opened her eyes for most of the day! She is still not able to process any information, however. She doesn't focus or track any movement, but this still is progress and we rejoice in it.  She is still on antibiotics. Continue to pray for progress in her recovery. That she will show movement in her lower body. Pray that God will continue to heal her brain and restore it to full health.

DAY 14
Baby Mikayla is still in the hospital.  They think she has an infection and her intestines are underdeveloped.  She was born a month early.  Surgery could be an option.  Let's pray that her intestines develop properly so that she could avoid a surgery

We have some details on Mi-Rha's MRI: Her brain is heavily damaged.  She should have motor skills, but might have troubles on one side of her body.  She might have problems with  facial recognition and might have memory issues. 

We really won't know the full extent of the damage until she fully wakes up.  Her brain should recover and compensate for some of the damage, but it's impossible to tell how much at this point.  It will be a long road towards recovery, but she won't be on that road alone. She will be with many wonderful friends and family that love her. 

DAY 15
Baby Mikayla is on an IV and will be in the hospitcal for at least a week.  Its so sad to see her crying because she is hungry but we can't feed her beause she is getting all her "food" from the IV.  

Mi-Rha is mostly awake during the days now.  Everyday, she shows some improvement.  For the first time, Mi-Rha made some purposeful movements with her left arm and she seemed to follow people with her eyes. It is good that she has been breathing well on her own just with oxygen.

DAY 17
Baby Mikayla has something called Necrotizing Enterocolitis, which is the inflammation and death of intestine tissue. There are three stages, She is at stage one,  So we are lucky her daddy made a great decision to take her to the hosplital early. By the Grace of God, she is stable and at this point, does not need surgery. The poor kid has a feeding tube up her nose and has attached to her a million different wires. She is now out of the incubator and into a  crib.

Mi-Rha sat in a wheelchair (like a lazyboy chair) for three hours today and yesterday.  She is able form a smile for some visitors some of the time.  She squeezed Jamies hand with her thumb and raised her arm when a nurse asked her to, both with her left side only.  These sound so minor, but they are improvments, which is what is important at this stage.

DAY 19
Baby Mikayla starting to drink a little bit of milk from a bottle (instead of feeding tube).   If things keep progressing she might be discharged next week.  Here is photo: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8zVQHXKojTMUVpNOXhRcGpLbmc/view?usp=sharing  

Mi-Rha is also improving.   She is now out of ICU and into a regular hostpital room with three others.   
She is groggy and in a complete fog but awake.  She is able to move her left side only so far.  She can't speak or really comunicate at all yet.  She still has a feeding tube for food attached to her belly and a tracheotomy tube in for breathing attached to her neck. She keeps grabbing at the tubes which is a great sign.. She is annoyed by them!   When she is awake enough she is able to follow simple commands like:  squeeze your hand, raise your arm, smile.

DAY 20
Baby Mikayla is feeding better.
Mi-Rha is moving her right arm but not purposeful. 
The plan is to move them both to the same hospital within the next few days.

Let's continue to thank and praise God for the miracles He's performed in the midst of this tragic situation.

DAY 23
Baby Mikayla  is getting better and better, she will stay in the hospital for about a week still, but is feeding very well now.

Mi-Rha has had an fever from an infection for the last few days. They did chest xrays and put her on anti-biotics just in case.   

DAY 24 
Baby Mikayla has been transferred so now baby and mother are now at the same hospital again.  She is feeding so well, and is nearly back to her birth weight.

Mi-Rha still has her fever.  They will be re-doing stitches on her head and drain some fluid. There are moments where she is "in the zone," meaning that she may respond to you with a smile or some hand movement or even tear. These days, due to her infection and fever, she has been "out of the zone" and has been groggy or dazed looking. 

DAY 26
Baby Mikayla had her IV removed.  She is now getting feeding from bottle only,.

Mi-Rha - MRI shows that parts of the corpus callosum are damaged, but not completely. Since the last MRI the area that was damaged has shown significant improvement.  There was a mild increase of fluid collection at the sight of damage, (on the surface) - increase in the area was caused by the decrease of the brain herniation - where brain was swollen, fluid has filled that spot. This might have been caused by the infection on the stitches, now being treated with antibiotics. Please continue to pray that God will continue to repair her brain, brain function, and restoration of her memory.

DAY 29
Baby Mikayla.  Better and better. She is due to be discharged from hospital on Tuesday

Mi-Rha.  Good news: They are hoping to remove her trachea tube in a few days.. They have just closed the valve so she is breathing 100% on her own now.   She has been moved to a more private room.  Bad news:  She might need a bit of surgery to drain some fluid in her brain.  We'll know for sure later today.



DAY 31
Baby Mikayla isn't taking a regular formula well.  She is on some special formula and they will continue to monitor her for another week.

Mi-Rha is stable and getting an antibiotic for the next days.  Then they will make a decision on some minor surgery around her stitches, as well as take out her trachea tube out.

Over the last several days she has made some improvements:  Both her eyes are in sync and track together.  Her pupils both dilate together.  She has demonstrated purposeful movement in both her left and right arms.  When awake, she will look at you but with a blank, expressionless face.  Imagine what someone looks like a few seconds before they fall asleep - that is the best way to describe it. 

DAY 36
Baby Mikayla is doing well

Mi-Rha had her tracheotomy removed a few days ago and she is out of the woods for any surgeries.  If all continues well, she should be transfered to the hospital nearer her home this week.

DAY 39
Baby Mikayala is back in hospital NICU with Necrotizing Enterocolitis again.  She'll have an IV instead of food for the week.  

Mi-Rha ended up having her surgery after all and is now in isolation to reduce the risk of any further infections.  She is on a different antibiotic. 


DAY 45
This will be the last update until there is a major change to annouce.

Baby Mikayala is doing better.  She got her first feeding again yesterday.   She is expected to be released in about a week.

Mi-Rha was transfered to the hospital nearer her home last night.  She is doing well and is stable.  Each day we see minor improvments in her interactions with others.  She seems to look at you now instead of through you.  She seems to react a bit to things you say to her.  Its hard to tell the difference between what we are hoping and praying for and what is actually going on in her head but the improvements are there.

Let's continue to pray over M&m, for full health. God is in full control and He is and will do a mighty work in all of us.

DAY 46
That didn't take long... Its just like Mi-Rha.. I make some plans and she finds a way to change things.  :-)    Just one day and there is something MAJOR !!

Mi-Rha spoke.  She talked.  She said words.  five wonderful words.  Jamie was by her side and he  noticed her waking up and he said "hi baby" to her and she repeated the words back to him!   Jamie said "i love you" and she repeated those words back to him. 



Day 87 - March 31
Baby Mikayala has been out of the hospital now for a few weeks and doing well. She is enjoying her time with her father and with the overwhelming supply of people helping out.

Mi-Rha is now in a long term rehab hospital in Toronto and on the long road to recovery.  The family wishes to keep the no visitors policy for the long term.

She has good days and bad days.  On bad days she will look through you with little or no expression.

On good days she seems more aware of her surroundings and of the people talking to her.   Some good days have given us a reply to a question with a weak "yes" or "no" or a small nod with her head. Other good days have shown her ability to take a spoon full of food on it and put it to her mouth on her own.  She is making baby steps all the time.

Its going to be a long long road lasting six months to five years before she will able to do things like drive a car or plan a surprise party again.

This website, along with hundreds of donations and well wishes show us that Mi-Rha, her baby and her husband are loved by a great many people. We thank you and look forward to the day that Mi-Rha will be able to thank you directly.