Baby Alexia's Fight

“Hello”! My name is Alexia...

Here is my loving family...
Daddy (Kevin)
Mommy (Suzanne)
Older brother (Jaylen)
Older sister (Natalia) 
I just started talking and singing "hi" "why you say that" "twinkle twinkle" and my favorite song is, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"!

I am 16 months old, and three days ago my happy short existence took a turn and I ended up in the Calgary Children’s Hospital!

My Aunties (Kathy and Natasha) and Uncles (Fabian and Patrick) my “four helpers” are going to share my story.

We (the four helpers) are reaching out to FRIENDS and FAMILY and to ANYBODY out there willing to take time out of their busy lives to share Alexia's heart wrenching journey.

On Friday afternoon February 7th, 2020, our lives were turned upside down when our precious baby niece was admitted to the Calgary Children's Hospital.

Alexia was immediately admitted to the emergency ward and diagnosed with pneumonia and Heart failure!

There was fluid in her lungs, her breathing was labored,  lethargic, and her heart was not pumping adequately.  An Intravenous (IV) was inserted, "OUCH DID THAT EVER HURT"!! She was immediately put on medication to try to help her heart pump properly, and was put on high flow oxygen and then BiPap to offload her heart. BUT little Alexia took a turn for the worse. 

Due to the rapid deterioration of her heart, an amazing team of doctors and nurses intubated (inserting a tube into her trachea for ventilation) little Alexia to help alleviate the stress off her heart.  Unfortunately,  the intubation, and medications did not work as well as expected. Her heart was not improving and it started affecting her vital organs (liver, kidneys). 

The next steps to help stabilize Alexia was to perform a "high risk" procedure ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) "LIFE SUPPORT" (a technique of providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory support to persons whose heart and lungs are unable to provide an adequate amount of gas exchange or perfusion to sustain LIFE)!

After the successful ECMO procedure, little Alexia was ready for Medivac transport to Edmonton, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) Stollery Children's Hospital. 

In organizing meeting Alexia in Edmonton, there was a very tight window for Mom and Dad (Kevin and Suzanne) to rush home, change,  pack a bag and rush to the Calgary International Airport to catch a WestJet flight to Edmonton.

After a short flight to Edmonton little Alexia was admitted to the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care unit (PCICU) at the Stollery Children's Hospital on February 9, 2020 for investigation and management  of heart failure.  Alexia‘s heart is now able to rest while her Ecmo machine does the work for her heart.

Mom and dad are present at the hospital 24/7, providing support to little Alexia.  Parents of children admitted to the hospital are expected to remain at the bedside to participate in medical treatment plans,  provide consent for procedures and surgeries that may be required and to gain understanding or teaching of discharge plans.

The emotional roller coaster our family members are experiencing is absolutely devastating!

We started this page in hopes of alleviating the financial stresses that lay a head to the long road to recovery.  Expenses include, extended periods away from work, hotel accommodations, meals, transportation between Edmonton and Calgary and rehabilitation and after care recovery.

Any support and understanding and prayers that you can provide little Alexia and her family would be greatly appreciated!

Alexia is surrounded by a lot of love and support.
Both sets of grand-parents, siblings, aunties, uncles, cousins and friends cannot wait to see Alexia singing, dancing and laughing again.  

Left to Right:  Mariah, Natalia, Jaden, Jaylen, Makai
Front Center:  Alexia

Left to Right:  Makai, Jaylen, Alexia, Jaden, Natalia, Mariah

All funds will be directly deposited to Kevin and Suzanne! We will keep you posted and updated!

THANK YOU for taking the time in listening and sharing our journey.