Help Devon Arden Bailey
Donation protected
She
rri Tolley Arden
December 23 at 6:45 AM ·
I received a call in the wee hours Sunday morning. My son-in-law’s voice on the other end of the line, “The doctor said to notify the family now!” It was Devon, my youngest. I did not pack. I threw on clothes.. Greg drove me to Oakland. I had no ticket on what is one of the busiest days ever. By 8 pm I arrived in Nashville. 10 yrs ago, Devon, my youngest was diagnosed with what is known as an AVM- an arterial venous malformation deep in her brain. An AVM is a collection of blood vessels which are a tangled mess of vessels, thus “malformation”. If you have ever taken the leather cover off a baseball and have seen the “threads” all wound tight, that’s what it resembles. A knotted, tangled mess. It diverts blood flow to surrounding areas. The best example I can give in laymen’s terms. Depending on its location can be fatal or a best results in a vegetative state. Similar to an aneurysm. Devon’s was inoperable. It sits just above her brainstem, the control center, where breathing originates. 10 yrs ago she had a gamma knife procedure (high dose radiation )beam to shrink it. It did shrink it a bit. In those wee hours of Sunday morning it ruptured, causing a massive bleed in her brain, filling ventricles and all areas of her brain. Her amazing husband, with her 2 small daughters rushed her to the hospital, after she said she told him she didn’t feel right. “Flames of fire in her head, legs and arms”. Vomiting began. She slumped forward unresponsive in the car. With one arm across her chest to keep her breathing, upright he put the pedal to the metal driving the 30 miles to the closest hospital in Williamson County...115-120 mph. He scooped her up and carried her into the ER. When the Drs realized the severity, she was flown to Vanderbilt Neuro-ICU unit where she is now. She has been kept sedated on life support. Her sedation medication is decreased about every 30 min for neuro checks, extremity checks, she is following commands slowly, wiggling toes, gripping hands when asked, opening her eyes. Her pupils are NOT fixed and dilated, but react to light. All great signs! She has 2 drains in her brain draining cerebral spinal fluid to keep intracranial pressure down. A feeding tube in her nose. A Foley catheter in her bladder...as I say...she is wired for sound! Devon so wanted me to come for Christmas...but living in CA, my work as a nurse and those responsibilities of my role, I told her “maybe next year”. Well, here I am in Nashville, sitting at her bedside playing Christmas carols to her and holding her hand...some girls will go to any lengths to get what they want. She is now being transported down for an MRIa (angiography). This is paramount to see what happens next. It is touch and go. Minute by minute. Risks of CVA, seizures and more continue. Please continue to pray for her. Pray hard. Many of you may get tired of my “go team” posts and attitude...but it’s for this very reason...life is fragile. Hug your babies. Forgive each other. Honor your spouse. It is but an apostrophe this precious life. The next call in the middle of night might be to you. Thank you❤️ I know this was L O N G but I’ve been explaining to many...so here it is. Thank you for patience with me. I love each one of you. And as my favorite Christmas character Clarence the angel tells George Bailey, “You see George, you’ve had a wonderful life! No man is poor who has friends!”❤
rri Tolley ArdenDecember 23 at 6:45 AM ·
I received a call in the wee hours Sunday morning. My son-in-law’s voice on the other end of the line, “The doctor said to notify the family now!” It was Devon, my youngest. I did not pack. I threw on clothes.. Greg drove me to Oakland. I had no ticket on what is one of the busiest days ever. By 8 pm I arrived in Nashville. 10 yrs ago, Devon, my youngest was diagnosed with what is known as an AVM- an arterial venous malformation deep in her brain. An AVM is a collection of blood vessels which are a tangled mess of vessels, thus “malformation”. If you have ever taken the leather cover off a baseball and have seen the “threads” all wound tight, that’s what it resembles. A knotted, tangled mess. It diverts blood flow to surrounding areas. The best example I can give in laymen’s terms. Depending on its location can be fatal or a best results in a vegetative state. Similar to an aneurysm. Devon’s was inoperable. It sits just above her brainstem, the control center, where breathing originates. 10 yrs ago she had a gamma knife procedure (high dose radiation )beam to shrink it. It did shrink it a bit. In those wee hours of Sunday morning it ruptured, causing a massive bleed in her brain, filling ventricles and all areas of her brain. Her amazing husband, with her 2 small daughters rushed her to the hospital, after she said she told him she didn’t feel right. “Flames of fire in her head, legs and arms”. Vomiting began. She slumped forward unresponsive in the car. With one arm across her chest to keep her breathing, upright he put the pedal to the metal driving the 30 miles to the closest hospital in Williamson County...115-120 mph. He scooped her up and carried her into the ER. When the Drs realized the severity, she was flown to Vanderbilt Neuro-ICU unit where she is now. She has been kept sedated on life support. Her sedation medication is decreased about every 30 min for neuro checks, extremity checks, she is following commands slowly, wiggling toes, gripping hands when asked, opening her eyes. Her pupils are NOT fixed and dilated, but react to light. All great signs! She has 2 drains in her brain draining cerebral spinal fluid to keep intracranial pressure down. A feeding tube in her nose. A Foley catheter in her bladder...as I say...she is wired for sound! Devon so wanted me to come for Christmas...but living in CA, my work as a nurse and those responsibilities of my role, I told her “maybe next year”. Well, here I am in Nashville, sitting at her bedside playing Christmas carols to her and holding her hand...some girls will go to any lengths to get what they want. She is now being transported down for an MRIa (angiography). This is paramount to see what happens next. It is touch and go. Minute by minute. Risks of CVA, seizures and more continue. Please continue to pray for her. Pray hard. Many of you may get tired of my “go team” posts and attitude...but it’s for this very reason...life is fragile. Hug your babies. Forgive each other. Honor your spouse. It is but an apostrophe this precious life. The next call in the middle of night might be to you. Thank you❤️ I know this was L O N G but I’ve been explaining to many...so here it is. Thank you for patience with me. I love each one of you. And as my favorite Christmas character Clarence the angel tells George Bailey, “You see George, you’ve had a wonderful life! No man is poor who has friends!”❤
Co-organizers (3)
Mary Hudgins
Organizer
Spring Hill, TN
Anton Bailey
Beneficiary
Sherri Tolley Arden
Co-organizer
Sheila Hines
Co-organizer