Elizabeth Isla James' NICU stay
Donation protected
I went into labour unexpectedly on Tuesday, February 7th 2017.
The day before, Nelson, BC had received over 40 cm of snow prompting school closures for the first time since 1989 and within 48 hours we were to receive another 40cm more which ended up playing a large role in Elizabeth's birth story...
Around 2pm, my waters had ruptured while a friend and her 5 month old were over for a visit. We'd been taking advantage of being on maternity leave together and were enjoying our chat when I realized something was not right. In a panic I had called the midwife, who had instructed me to pack a bag and head for the hospital immediately and to expect not to return home for some time.
In disbelief, I ran around the house, waters still leaking and searching for the necessary items I needed. Contractions began getting uncomfortable at this point and I knew that baby was going to be born that day.
I was only 31 weeks and 5 days pregnant. Two out of three of our child care back ups were out of town on vacation and I couldn't reach my husband because he was working in the Slocan Valley that day.
We had planned a home birth since our first two births went seemingly flawless and I recovered well. We figured we'd avoid a hospital stay since we felt it was unnecessary with our eldest two children when we lived in Calgary.
After attempting to slow and stop labour to give our baby more time to develop in utero and to transfer me to a hospital capable of handling this situation to deliver, the OBGYN on call at Kootenay Lake Hospital suspected a cord prolapse and an infection in either myself or baby. This meant that the new plan was to deliver via cesarean, call in specialists from around the region to keep our baby from fatality, and transfer us out of Nelson in the morning to Surrey, BC. This was their plan, this wasn't our plan.
Elizabeth Isla James arrived naturally at 10:19pm on February 7th 2017. She didn't need to arrive via cesarean after all. This was the moment we learned our baby was a girl and we were thrilled. She was briefly placed on my chest, squirming and crying before falling lethargic and limp. She was rushed away to the nursery where a pediatrician, OBGYN, respiratory therapist, and a few nurses worked to resuscitate her and give her stability. Elizabeth's APGAR score was initially 3, followed by 5, and then 7. We thought we were going to lose her that night.
Another snowfall warning had prompted heavy discussion among staff at the hospital and the medical transfer team from Vancouver. When would be the safest time for our new infant and myself to travel out of the region that was under a current Winter Storm Warning? The discussion went on for an entire day as ethics were brought into the topic. This gave Elizabeth some time to fight so hard that she was able to be transferred to a level 2 NICU in Kelowna as opposed to a level 3 NICU in Surrey as initially thought. We are so lucky as one of the most difficult pieces to this is being separated as a family.
On Thursday, February 9th 2017, Elizabeth and I were transferred via ground ambulance to Kelowna General Hospital. It took us 8 hours to travel due to road conditions and visibility.
Since being in Kelowna, Elizabeth's status of health has flourished and progressed predictably. In 12 days she's overcome needing Cpap and airflow, phototherapy for jaundice, electrolytes, lipids and vitamins via IV line and has been tolerating her feed's via feeding tube as expected. We're told that going home will just take time, as she's still very tiny, which means our family may be separated up until April, which is when her due date was.
So, we're asking for help. We're so blessed to have the family and community we do in Nelson and Calgary , who have been an incredible asset in this, taking care of our older two and ensuring their well beings are met and exceeded as we try and figure out this situation. I've been able to solely focus on my smallest child while knowing my elder two children are being well cared for and happy.
The help we are seeking here is financial, as we've had to add hotel stays, meals, the cost of travel and extended child care to our budget during the time we are apart. We've been lucky enough to have received some funding from Nelson Friends of the Family to help pay for what was already spent and a hotel until the end of February, but do not have the means beyond that to continue in March.
We're raising money so we can ensure our eldest two can continue being well cared for, and we can be together as a family on the weekends until we're transferred back to Nelson and discharged to go home.
Please help our family be together as much as we can during this time!
The Burns'
The day before, Nelson, BC had received over 40 cm of snow prompting school closures for the first time since 1989 and within 48 hours we were to receive another 40cm more which ended up playing a large role in Elizabeth's birth story...
Around 2pm, my waters had ruptured while a friend and her 5 month old were over for a visit. We'd been taking advantage of being on maternity leave together and were enjoying our chat when I realized something was not right. In a panic I had called the midwife, who had instructed me to pack a bag and head for the hospital immediately and to expect not to return home for some time.
In disbelief, I ran around the house, waters still leaking and searching for the necessary items I needed. Contractions began getting uncomfortable at this point and I knew that baby was going to be born that day.
I was only 31 weeks and 5 days pregnant. Two out of three of our child care back ups were out of town on vacation and I couldn't reach my husband because he was working in the Slocan Valley that day.
We had planned a home birth since our first two births went seemingly flawless and I recovered well. We figured we'd avoid a hospital stay since we felt it was unnecessary with our eldest two children when we lived in Calgary.
After attempting to slow and stop labour to give our baby more time to develop in utero and to transfer me to a hospital capable of handling this situation to deliver, the OBGYN on call at Kootenay Lake Hospital suspected a cord prolapse and an infection in either myself or baby. This meant that the new plan was to deliver via cesarean, call in specialists from around the region to keep our baby from fatality, and transfer us out of Nelson in the morning to Surrey, BC. This was their plan, this wasn't our plan.
Elizabeth Isla James arrived naturally at 10:19pm on February 7th 2017. She didn't need to arrive via cesarean after all. This was the moment we learned our baby was a girl and we were thrilled. She was briefly placed on my chest, squirming and crying before falling lethargic and limp. She was rushed away to the nursery where a pediatrician, OBGYN, respiratory therapist, and a few nurses worked to resuscitate her and give her stability. Elizabeth's APGAR score was initially 3, followed by 5, and then 7. We thought we were going to lose her that night.
Another snowfall warning had prompted heavy discussion among staff at the hospital and the medical transfer team from Vancouver. When would be the safest time for our new infant and myself to travel out of the region that was under a current Winter Storm Warning? The discussion went on for an entire day as ethics were brought into the topic. This gave Elizabeth some time to fight so hard that she was able to be transferred to a level 2 NICU in Kelowna as opposed to a level 3 NICU in Surrey as initially thought. We are so lucky as one of the most difficult pieces to this is being separated as a family.
On Thursday, February 9th 2017, Elizabeth and I were transferred via ground ambulance to Kelowna General Hospital. It took us 8 hours to travel due to road conditions and visibility.
Since being in Kelowna, Elizabeth's status of health has flourished and progressed predictably. In 12 days she's overcome needing Cpap and airflow, phototherapy for jaundice, electrolytes, lipids and vitamins via IV line and has been tolerating her feed's via feeding tube as expected. We're told that going home will just take time, as she's still very tiny, which means our family may be separated up until April, which is when her due date was.
So, we're asking for help. We're so blessed to have the family and community we do in Nelson and Calgary , who have been an incredible asset in this, taking care of our older two and ensuring their well beings are met and exceeded as we try and figure out this situation. I've been able to solely focus on my smallest child while knowing my elder two children are being well cared for and happy.
The help we are seeking here is financial, as we've had to add hotel stays, meals, the cost of travel and extended child care to our budget during the time we are apart. We've been lucky enough to have received some funding from Nelson Friends of the Family to help pay for what was already spent and a hotel until the end of February, but do not have the means beyond that to continue in March.
We're raising money so we can ensure our eldest two can continue being well cared for, and we can be together as a family on the weekends until we're transferred back to Nelson and discharged to go home.
Please help our family be together as much as we can during this time!
The Burns'
Organizer
Ashley Burns
Organizer
Nelson, BC