Support Cady's Recovery: Aid the Arsenault Family

**Support for Cady and the Arsenault Family**

Dear Friends, Family, and Kind-hearted Strangers,

We are reaching out to ask for your help during an incredibly difficult time for the Arsenault family. Their nine year old daughter, Cady, has been facing serious complications following a tracheostomy, and has been in the hospital for an extended period - since mid December- with no end known at this time. Her hospitalization has had many complications that have extended her admission beyond what was originally planned for. This sudden medical crisis has put an immense financial strain on the family, as both parents are struggling to balance their child’s medical needs with the costs of everyday living and caring for Cady’s little sister, Holland.

Cady’s dad, Daniel, has been unable to return to work as Cady’s Complex Care Assistant, as he is unable to work during admissions. Cady’s mom, Camila, has had to return to work due to financial constraints. As the bills continue to accumulate, the family is finding it difficult to manage expenses for both the hospital stay and their daily needs. Gas, Food, Parking are just the start.

We are asking for donations to help cover these mounting expenses so that Danny and Camila can focus on Cady's recovery without the added stress of financial hardship. Your support will help ensure they can stay by Cady's side during this critical time, and help relieve some of the burden they’re facing as they navigate this challenging situation.

No amount is too small, and every donation will make a difference. If you’re unable to contribute financially, please consider sharing this page with others who may be able to help. Above all, the family asks for your thoughts and prayers as they work through this difficult journey.

Thank you from the bottom of their hearts for your generosity and support.

With gratitude,

The Arsenault Family

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DETAILS: from Camila’s Facebook

November 30, 2024

Hi. I wanted to ask you all to please be praying for Cady. We found out yesterday that Cady needs urgent surgery to work on her airway. She will be getting admitted to Mass General sometime in the second week of December to get a choanal atresia repair and a semi permanent tracheotomy.

Cady had a failed choanal atresia repair in August 2022 that required an emergency intubation, so we are very nervous. Also, the tracheotomy will be a big change for Cady.

Our surgeon hopes that these much needed surgical interventions will prevent a repeat of this summer but I will admit we are all still very shaken up.

We are staying positive and trusting in Jesus to give us wisdom and strength to get through this as a family. We anticipate Cady will be admitted for a minimum of 10 days but hope she will be home in time for Christmas. ❤️

UPDATE:

December 11, 2024

hi, i wanted to share that Cady had her surgery this morning and it went well. she is getting moved to the PICU at Mass General and for the next five days she will be kept sedated and comfortable as she recovers. we are just waiting to see her. we prayed over her this morning and felt so much peace over this surgery. thank you Jesus. thank you all for the support. ❤️

UPDATE:

December 12, 2024

I just wanted to share that Cady had a great night and we are hoping to start lifting the sedation soon. her tracheostomy will look like this cute little bears, once she is able to come off the ventilator, which is right now helping her breath so she can just rest.

this cute little friend was a gift from the hospital for Holly, so she can get used to what trachs and g-tubes look like so that these things can be normalized in her life, as they will be a part of her sister’s new normal. although she knows her sister has a g-tube, the trach is a big change for us all!.

it is these small details that really differentiate quality and empathetic patient care. we appreciate MGH very much for how wonderfully they are taking care of Cady! ❤️

UPDATE:

December 16th, 2024

Cady’s having a really hard time post op. She did well first couple of days, then took a turn for the worse yesterday. she may need to go back to OR on Wednesday. The hospital is having a hard time managing her pain/sedation and it now appears there is concern for an infection somewhere. maybe her lungs. she had a partial collapse yesterday and is needing more vent support. she’s also retaining fluids like crazy and is not responding to her normal diuretics.

i’m trying to cope with the feelings of disappointment and frustration because it feels like she (and we) cannot catch a break. at every turn, there is a complication or bump in the road. and many set backs. there is much doubt. did we make the right decision to have this surgery? the reality is that this is the life of a medically complex person. we are not alone in this experience. we are not alone in this painful and difficult time for our family.

we are not alone because GOD is sovereign over our present suffering. God is present. God is worthy.

“Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.

For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

‭‭

UPDATE:

December 18, 2024

Cady has a double bacterial infection in her airway: enterobacter and mrsa (staph). definitely not ideal but she seems to be responding well to antibiotics so far. she is still on the vent and they are trying to clear up some other (smaller) complications before they try to get her up and awake. its looking more and more that we will be spending this Christmas at the hospital.

UPDATE:

December 25, 2024

Christmas in the PICU.

UPDATE:

December 26th, 2024

cady update: early christmas morning, cady had a mucus plug get stuck in her new trach, which resulted in respiratory distress. she ended up needing a ambu bag, which is a type of manual resuscitator. we did some more imaging and found a new pneumonia that was not there just a few days ago. she is back on iv antibiotics and is stable but definitely not feeling well. we are hoping that with the new trach we can get antibiotics and lung treatments directly to her lungs. we are waiting for cultures to determine what bacteria we are up against. until then we are treating with strong, broad spectrum antibiotics to try to cover what we know she has had in the past. unfortunately, these medications are not gentle on her kidneys and so fluid balance is extremely important but precarious, as things are further complicated by the fact she is just retaining so much fluid and getting swollen (edema). today we are having a round table discussion to come up with short term and long term plans to help get her back to baseline. she is resting comfortably now and hopefully will continue on a path to recovery. ❤️‍

UPDATE:

December 28th, 2024

cady update: yesterday she started profusely bleeding from somewhere in her upper airway. ENT attempted 2 scopes, but could not find source. she ended up needing a blood transfusion and all seemed better, but this morning she started bleeding again. medical team started to give platelets but it looks like cady is still losing significant blood and will need another transfusion.

the plan today is that cady is going to get medically induced into a coma, get a PICC line in, and go to CT to try to find the source of this bleeding. we believe we found at least one source, which is now in the process of being packed. we all agree this is so beyond what is normal or to be expected 2 weeks post op. we need answers.

please keep cady in your prayers today. we are praying for peace in this storm and wisdom as we continue to to advocate for cady. we are praying for her medical team. we are also thanking God for giving us cady. this has been a lot for our family but we feel Gods faithfulness to us so deeply in every win and every setback. we know that none of this is happening outside of His control.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭

UPDATE:

December 29th, 2024

Hi. Cady has been stable the last 24 hours and is sedated. We have learned two things:

The first is that Cady has experienced a rare complication called Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC). Basically, her blood stopped clotting and caused uncontrollable bleeding. I was at the bedside and witnessed this happen over several major bleeding events. It was terrifying and I’m still trying to process this.

Secondly, the loss of blood caused damage to her liver, called “shocked liver” or ischemic hepatitis. Right now, it appears to be the only injured organ. Thankfully, her labs are starting to improve and it is possible for her liver to recover.

There is still blood coming from somewhere, as we are finding her stomach is filled with blood clots. Doctors are adding IV meds to try to stop any source of bleeding.

Good things: Her CT scan was reassuring. Her heart rate and oxygen levels have been stable. Kidneys look good. She is comfortable right now.

That’s all I have. Thanks for reading our journey and praying with us. We know so many people care about Cady and we are still hopeful she can make a full recovery. I may take a break from updating for a little bit and try to focus on my mental health. I am really tired and Holly needs me right now as well. I love my family so much.

Here is a picture from Christmas Eve.

UPDATE:

January 11th, 2025

today is one month that Cady has been admitted. her condition is best described as “stably unstable”.

to explain: she is stable in that she is awake and off the vent and holding her sats well. the issue is that she has had several bleeding episodes, as well as additional infection, which has remained unstable and difficult to manage. over the last 24 hours she has received two more blood transfusions. thankfully, she is no longer in DIC (disseminated instravascular coagulation) so she is able to clot up and is no longer “bleeding out”. the bleed is originating from somewhere in her colon/intestinal tract. her liver seems to have so far, recovered from the shock it received from prior blood loss.

the immediate plan is to do a bowel clean up today so they can do a colonoscopy and find the source of the bleeding. she should be having this scope tomorrow. she is also on intense iv antifungal and antiviral meds. there was evidence of necrotic tissue in her esophagus which was contributing to the esophagitis she has been experiencing.

this week was really hard. i felt like i wasn’t being heard or valued as Cady’s advocate, leading to extremely uncomfortable conversations with the hospital and to be honest, me losing my cool a few times. (). thankfully, things have been better since.

i go back to work this Monday and will have to leave Cady at the hospital. since Danny works full time as Cady’s CCA, he is unable to resume work while Cady is admitted and so he will be coming to the bedside daily. that being said, with work and Holly’s schedule it will be impossible for someone to be here 24/7, which we hate. we planned for a two week admission, which now feels endless. it has been a trying time. we still feel very hopeful Cady can and WILL make a full recovery. ❤️‍

we are processing the grief we feel because nothing has gone according to our plan during this admission. as we walk through this ‘valley of dry bones’, we seek our comfort in the gospel. we know that this grief and these hardships will pass. i am so thankful for my love, Danny, my partner in everything. i could not do this life without him by my side.

hug your babies for us today and please keep Cady in your continued prayers.

UPDATE:

January 12, 2025

Cady just went to surgery. She has several arterial bleeds and aneurysms in her colon. the hope is that IR can cauterize these and stop the bleeding. we are nervous but trusting.

UPDATE:

January 13, 2025

update on surgery: unfortunately it was unsuccessful. cady experienced a complication with the cath, which resulted in a perforation to her left inferior kidney artery, which feeds blood flow to her left kidney. surgeon thinks it shouldn’t affect kidney function but only time will tell. she will be going back to the OR at some point in the next few days for an endoscopy/colonoscopy. bleeding has slowed down with meds but they still don’t know what caused this. will update when i have more info. thanks everyone!

UPDATE:

January 15, 2025

small update but Cady is scheduled to go back to the OR tomorrow afternoon to see if the cause of colon bleed can be found and treated. right now she is on a medication called octeotride, which is slowing down blood flow to gut and thus her active bleeding has been reduced significantly.

we also found out that she was approved for a transfer to Boston Children’s Hospital!! so now we just wait for a bed to open up so she can be moved over. we believe this will be the best thing for her.

UPDATE:

January 16, 2025

Hi. Cady’s procedure went well today. surgeon sent several biopsies to check for different potential infectious causes and see what may have caused the colon bleed. we don’t have answers yet and the reality is we may not get any clear answers if the biopsies are inconclusive. doctor said she could clearly visualize the area in her splenic flexure that was where the bleeding was coming from and it looks like the area is starting to heal. Praise God!! they also could not visualize any active bleeding!! so great news.

unfortunately, Cady is also starting to increased signs of infection again. she started another strong, broad spectrum antibiotic called Zosyn to prevent this from spiraling. she is still so fragile due to the recent DIC and i think everyone has a low threshold to treat. she is on a lot of medications right now, but has been awake during the day and has been in good spirits. no news on transfer to BCH.