Hello friends,
As many of you know Megan and Lou's youngest child, Jack (2 years old), went into respiratory failure on Monday and was intubated and airlifted to the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse and has been in the pediatric ICU since then. Jack has been making tiny steps towards recovery, with a huge step on Friday - finally removing his breathing tube and being put on a cannula for oxygen and medication.
Jack still has a road of recovery ahead of him. Continuing to take steps towards breathing on his own, mental and physical evaluations to see if there is any long term damage, along with physical therapy to build up his strength again. We are just so thankful that he has made all the progress he has during this terrifying week.
We're just looking to cover some of the basic costs around this entire event for her family, along with some of the loss of income as they have had to take time off from work. We truly appreciate your generosity and are so thankful for any amount at all you can contribute.
Megan's email updates and the full story of what happened are below:
On Friday, March 6, our two-year-old son Jack developed a cough. It was a minor cough, but his brother was getting over pneumonia and we didn't want it to develop into anything further so we took him to the pediatrician. The doctor was able to hear something in his lungs and immediately made appropriate treatment and medication plans.
He was doing fine on Saturday, still doing fine Sunday morning. Sunday evening he started to breathe a little harder so we adjusted the treatments accordingly and continued them throughout the night. Early Monday morning he was breathing much harder and the medication was no longer working. We called an ambulance to get transport to Bassett Hospital. By the time they arrived his lips and feet were blueish in color.
The ambulance team was incredible. Helping raise his dangerously low oxygen level and getting him to the ER. In the ER, tests and labs were run and he was given oxygen to keep his levels up while we (not so patiently) waited. We were told nothing else would happen until he was transferred to the pediatric floor, and that he was being admitted for low oxygen due to a virus.
A couple of hours after arriving at the ER we were brought up to pediatrics where they immediately saw he was breathing way, way too hard. He couldn't make a sound or take a full breath at all. They immediately tried another nebulizer treatment which did nothing and told us right away that he was going to need to be transferred.
Unfortunately, while the transfer was being arranged he started to fail quickly. He was in a complete sweat just trying to take a breath. He was panicking and completely disoriented. We were starting to panic. They continued giving him oxygen, doing everything they were capable of doing while waiting to hear which hospital was available for transport.
Then he became floppy and his eyes started to roll and we knew something was very wrong. The doctor immediately came in and explained they have to get him to the next facility the safest way possible, and that they were going to need to intubate him. Right. Now. A code was called as our room was immediately filled with tons of doctors and nurses. He was laid on the bed, given medication and immediately intubated. I stayed holding him until the very end, crying. I have never felt so helpless in my life.
We were told the team was coming in 14 minutes at that point to transport him. They were hand bagging him so his lungs would circulate air and getting him hooked up to a respirator. I assumed an ambulance was coming to get him and I would be able to stay by his side in transport. However, we soon learned it was a helicopter and we were not allowed to go. I melted to the floor in the middle of the hallway, sobbing. How had we gone from a cough to being airlifted? What was going on?
The air team came. We were all expecting immediate transport and to be on their way. However, Jack would not stabilize. He could not exhale and was retaining dangerous levels of CO2. They worked for a couple of hours, going back and forth with doctors at both hospitals, trying absolutely everything they could until they decided there was no more time. He was to be hand bagged with an oxygen tank the entire 30-minute flight. We felt terrified and helpless.
We walked him outside, watching him be handbagged so he would continue living, gave him kisses, and watched him load into the ambulance to take him down to the helicopter. The entire Bassett crew that helped him from the pediatrics floor was absolutely amazing. They literally saved his life.
From there, we got into our van and drove to Syracuse. Lou and I were both numb, terrified, and anxiously awaiting the call they had landed and he was in the doctors' care.
One excruciating hour later we finally received the call. Saying we were beyond thankful is an understatement. Happy and fearful thoughts filled our heads as we had absolutely no idea what we would walk into 30 minutes later when we finally arrived.
We walked into a huge team of pediatric ICU nurses and a doctor surrounding our sweet little Jack. He looked incredibly small in the huge bed with all his wires and vent attached. His CO2 levels had soared to 125 in flight (his current target range is 35-40). He had a partially collapsed lung. His lungs were not moving. He was given so many medications, put on a ventilator and watched meticulously by the incredible Syracuse team.
Thankfully, his numbers have continually crept up to better and better levels. His collapsed lung is already doing better. The next challenge is him breathing on his own with no ventilator assistance. Allowing his breathing tube to come out and no longer be intubated and sedated.
Having him in respiratory failure was a surreal living nightmare. Having the support of our incredible family and amazing friends all jumping to help make the mental stress more bearable. Thank you so much for all your help.
March 10 Update
Our little guy is holding strong. They have been suctioning his lungs and pulling out lots of mucus. He is still sedated, still using the machine to breathe, still getting tons of medication. But numbers remain consistent today and baby steps moving in the right direction.
It seems that he had the virus RSV, and, for some reason, his body had an asthmatic response causing his lungs to seize and cause respiratory distress. He also has a partial collapse on the top of his right lung. He had a blockage before/during transport that caused carbon dioxide levels to soar, but thankfully is doing much better with those levels...
March 11 Update
Jack's morning x-ray showed great improvement in the collapsed lung. Pretty much normal.
The next steps are trying to slowly move his dependency off the ventilator. We were told it is a delicate balancing act and the doctor has seen kids in these situations take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to eventually breathe on their own again. He was ticked down today on some settings, and he's definitely working harder, but the numbers are still in an ok range for the current goals, so we'll just have to wait and see. Still sedated. Still having heart-wrenching coughing/suctions. (His vocal cords are compressed with the tubes, so he is literally silent. No sound when coughing/looking like he is gagging. No sound when he cries, just silent tears. It is like watching a silent horror film. So, so sad.)
Not out of the woods yet by any means, but moving in the right direction. ️
March 12 Update
So I feel Jack made some good progress today! They changed his medication so he is still out but not as deeply sedated and is currently doing ok with the breathing machine changes that were made. We will see how that continues to go through the night, but I appreciate that for the moment it's going ok! His numbers are looking good, things moving in the right direction.
As many of you know Megan and Lou's youngest child, Jack (2 years old), went into respiratory failure on Monday and was intubated and airlifted to the Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital in Syracuse and has been in the pediatric ICU since then. Jack has been making tiny steps towards recovery, with a huge step on Friday - finally removing his breathing tube and being put on a cannula for oxygen and medication.
Jack still has a road of recovery ahead of him. Continuing to take steps towards breathing on his own, mental and physical evaluations to see if there is any long term damage, along with physical therapy to build up his strength again. We are just so thankful that he has made all the progress he has during this terrifying week.
We're just looking to cover some of the basic costs around this entire event for her family, along with some of the loss of income as they have had to take time off from work. We truly appreciate your generosity and are so thankful for any amount at all you can contribute.
Megan's email updates and the full story of what happened are below:
On Friday, March 6, our two-year-old son Jack developed a cough. It was a minor cough, but his brother was getting over pneumonia and we didn't want it to develop into anything further so we took him to the pediatrician. The doctor was able to hear something in his lungs and immediately made appropriate treatment and medication plans.
He was doing fine on Saturday, still doing fine Sunday morning. Sunday evening he started to breathe a little harder so we adjusted the treatments accordingly and continued them throughout the night. Early Monday morning he was breathing much harder and the medication was no longer working. We called an ambulance to get transport to Bassett Hospital. By the time they arrived his lips and feet were blueish in color.
The ambulance team was incredible. Helping raise his dangerously low oxygen level and getting him to the ER. In the ER, tests and labs were run and he was given oxygen to keep his levels up while we (not so patiently) waited. We were told nothing else would happen until he was transferred to the pediatric floor, and that he was being admitted for low oxygen due to a virus.
A couple of hours after arriving at the ER we were brought up to pediatrics where they immediately saw he was breathing way, way too hard. He couldn't make a sound or take a full breath at all. They immediately tried another nebulizer treatment which did nothing and told us right away that he was going to need to be transferred.
Unfortunately, while the transfer was being arranged he started to fail quickly. He was in a complete sweat just trying to take a breath. He was panicking and completely disoriented. We were starting to panic. They continued giving him oxygen, doing everything they were capable of doing while waiting to hear which hospital was available for transport.
Then he became floppy and his eyes started to roll and we knew something was very wrong. The doctor immediately came in and explained they have to get him to the next facility the safest way possible, and that they were going to need to intubate him. Right. Now. A code was called as our room was immediately filled with tons of doctors and nurses. He was laid on the bed, given medication and immediately intubated. I stayed holding him until the very end, crying. I have never felt so helpless in my life.
We were told the team was coming in 14 minutes at that point to transport him. They were hand bagging him so his lungs would circulate air and getting him hooked up to a respirator. I assumed an ambulance was coming to get him and I would be able to stay by his side in transport. However, we soon learned it was a helicopter and we were not allowed to go. I melted to the floor in the middle of the hallway, sobbing. How had we gone from a cough to being airlifted? What was going on?
The air team came. We were all expecting immediate transport and to be on their way. However, Jack would not stabilize. He could not exhale and was retaining dangerous levels of CO2. They worked for a couple of hours, going back and forth with doctors at both hospitals, trying absolutely everything they could until they decided there was no more time. He was to be hand bagged with an oxygen tank the entire 30-minute flight. We felt terrified and helpless.
We walked him outside, watching him be handbagged so he would continue living, gave him kisses, and watched him load into the ambulance to take him down to the helicopter. The entire Bassett crew that helped him from the pediatrics floor was absolutely amazing. They literally saved his life.
From there, we got into our van and drove to Syracuse. Lou and I were both numb, terrified, and anxiously awaiting the call they had landed and he was in the doctors' care.
One excruciating hour later we finally received the call. Saying we were beyond thankful is an understatement. Happy and fearful thoughts filled our heads as we had absolutely no idea what we would walk into 30 minutes later when we finally arrived.
We walked into a huge team of pediatric ICU nurses and a doctor surrounding our sweet little Jack. He looked incredibly small in the huge bed with all his wires and vent attached. His CO2 levels had soared to 125 in flight (his current target range is 35-40). He had a partially collapsed lung. His lungs were not moving. He was given so many medications, put on a ventilator and watched meticulously by the incredible Syracuse team.
Thankfully, his numbers have continually crept up to better and better levels. His collapsed lung is already doing better. The next challenge is him breathing on his own with no ventilator assistance. Allowing his breathing tube to come out and no longer be intubated and sedated.
Having him in respiratory failure was a surreal living nightmare. Having the support of our incredible family and amazing friends all jumping to help make the mental stress more bearable. Thank you so much for all your help.
March 10 Update
Our little guy is holding strong. They have been suctioning his lungs and pulling out lots of mucus. He is still sedated, still using the machine to breathe, still getting tons of medication. But numbers remain consistent today and baby steps moving in the right direction.
It seems that he had the virus RSV, and, for some reason, his body had an asthmatic response causing his lungs to seize and cause respiratory distress. He also has a partial collapse on the top of his right lung. He had a blockage before/during transport that caused carbon dioxide levels to soar, but thankfully is doing much better with those levels...
March 11 Update
Jack's morning x-ray showed great improvement in the collapsed lung. Pretty much normal.
The next steps are trying to slowly move his dependency off the ventilator. We were told it is a delicate balancing act and the doctor has seen kids in these situations take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to eventually breathe on their own again. He was ticked down today on some settings, and he's definitely working harder, but the numbers are still in an ok range for the current goals, so we'll just have to wait and see. Still sedated. Still having heart-wrenching coughing/suctions. (His vocal cords are compressed with the tubes, so he is literally silent. No sound when coughing/looking like he is gagging. No sound when he cries, just silent tears. It is like watching a silent horror film. So, so sad.)
Not out of the woods yet by any means, but moving in the right direction. ️
March 12 Update
So I feel Jack made some good progress today! They changed his medication so he is still out but not as deeply sedated and is currently doing ok with the breathing machine changes that were made. We will see how that continues to go through the night, but I appreciate that for the moment it's going ok! His numbers are looking good, things moving in the right direction.
Organizer and beneficiary
Joseph Tannenbaum
Organizer
Oneonta, NY
Lauberth Velandia
Beneficiary