Support Baby Scottie & Family in the Pediatric ICU

Story

*** 11/4 UPDATE: While Scottie looks really good this morning, her blood cultures are not looking so good. Her central venous line, which provides long-term intravenous access for her medications and IV nutrition, is harboring an infection now, despite that line also being used for her antibiotics. The medical team is going to have to pull out that line and make a lot of changes to her medications and IV nutrition. They don’t want to stress out her system with a new central line right now, so they are going to wait a few days to replace it elsewhere. In the meantime, they will start a new peripheral IV line for her medications and a different type of IV nutrition. The medical team will also focus on being more aggressive with her tube feedings to compensate for the change in the nutrition source, and to help with the diarrhea caused by the antibiotics. Fortunately, her tummy looks like it’s doing better now so we pray it can handle this increased volume. Please continue to lift her and Abby, Noah, Callan and Scottie up on your prayers. Thank you! ***UPDATE from the family: The medical team’s plan is to continue to weaning Scottie off the ECMO machine (life support machine), which is a delicate art of tweaking machine and medications to keep the balance of Scottie’s body system functions. She has partially collapsed lungs on both sides, so they are treating that with breathing treatments and managing diuretics. She is getting antibiotics for suspected urinary tract infection. Both these things are a result of being hooked up to all the equipment, tubes, lines, etc. so hopefully getting off the ECMO will be a step in the right direction. She wasn’t digesting her formula through the tube feeding so they had to go back to giving very small amounts at a constant rate. Scottie will be getting additional nutrition by IV. They are going to do an ECHO today and challenge how she does with further reduced flow from the life support. The medical team has successfully weaned her off of one of the heart meds in anticipation of starting a different one that will be more compatible with other meds that they are planning to give her. They have reduced the paralytic and she has some little twitching movements in response to stimuli which we love to see. So, it’s a mixed bag of cautious optimism and concern, but there is progress in some areas. The priority is getting her off ECMO and some of the other risks will be reduced. I know this is a lot and is probably overwhelming, but thank you for hanging in there with us and continuing to keep Scottie, Abby and Noah in your prayers. *** Last week, Abby and Noah’s 5-month-old baby daughter, Scottie, was admitted to the hospital to treat a virus. On Saturday, 10/19, Scottie was unexpectedly put on life support. Today, 10/21, Scottie had a massive seizure, and the family will be in the ICU at the children’s hospital for much longer than originally anticipated. Worrying about finances and food is the last thing this sweet young family needs as they navigate this dire situation. Both having dedicated their lives to service- Noah as a police officer and Abby in the wedding industry- they deserve to fully focus on their baby girl and her big brother, Callan. All who know and love this family can send support here, along with prayers, and rally around them to lift them up in hopes of Scottie making a full recovery. Thank you for anything you can give.