12/27/19
Baby Damian Brockhoft- Morales, a beautiful baby boy born prematurely at 36 weeks to Jessica Brockhoft and Jonathan Morales has fallen severely ill. As his short time on earth seemed to go on without a hitch we counted the eggs before they hatched.  Damian had been lethargic and hard to arouse more and more as the days went by in his short 7 days of life. Then yesterday  (12/26/19) Jessica noticed that he spit up and it was bloody. So she brang him to the hospital for further evaluation. Upon admission his temp was 93.4 and he began to have some periods of apena. His platelet count came back at 9! Normal is on the low side is 100's. His apneic periods began to get worse and the efforts to avoid intubation due to the low platelet count could no longer be avoided and he was then intubated right before they flew him to Sioux Falls. They continuously are running tests to find out what the culprit is. Some answers were given this morning as we found out hes positive for the rotovirus and enterovirus. They wonder if he contacted in at time of birth as Jessica was horribly ill just days before giving birth to him. They think due to the low platlet count he was bleeding without the ability to clot which is possibly internally as well. They did a ultrasound of his head to check for any brain bleeds as this wouldn't be uncommon for him to be having due to his levels.  His liver is severely damaged and stopped functioning for some time and he needs to see a specialist regarding that. Hes currently recieving FFP and platelet replacements pretty regularly and monitoring the levels. They've gone up to 28 but have since dropped again to 15.  He'll be intubated for a little while until more answers are solved. This has been devastating in more ways than 1 to this now family of 6! Jessica and Jonathan have 3 children at home who are all under the age of 5. Financial burden is just one more triumph that consumes Jessica and Jonathan at this time. This beautiful family requests help of and kind to go towards regular expenses, traveling expenses and medical expenses they will aquire through this long journey. Prayers are greatly appreciated!