Life Saving Emergency Surgery...

After the first hospitalization everything seemed fine. Until March 7th 2008 Brianna (at the time 5 1/2 months old) started getting sick... throwing up all day and getting very lathargic. She wasnt spitting up her formula she was throwing up a nasty green black foul smelling liquid (we later found it was stomach acid/bile). We took her into her pediatricians office that morning(at the time thank God not her current pediatrician) and he said she may be going through a stomach virus, to give her pedyalite for 24 hours. We took her home bought pedyalites she seemed to feel better with pedyalite (poor baby was dehydrated I am sure) but shortly after she would throw it up. I will never ever ever forget this day. We (my husband and our older daughter Hailey, Brianna and I) stopped by a local KFC for lunch that day we set Brianna on the floor next to our table in her carseat as we ate. When we were almost done I looked down only to find her carseat over a huge puddle of greenish blackish vomit (it was so much it was hard to believe it was coming from this little baby) we didnt see her throw it up but we knew. My poor baby was drenched in bile, we quickly ran out to get in the car to rush home to change her while walking to the car I called her pediatrician. He suggested we try pedialyte for another 6-8 hours and see how she felt (he wasnt seeing what we were seeing) and that if she didnt feel better to take her straight to CHOC's Emergency room (Children's Hospital of Orange County) and have her get an xray of her tummy to check for an obstruction. I hug up on him... told my husband I was going home bathing her changing her and taking her straight to the emergency room the heck with waiting 6-8 hours more I said. On our way home I called my big sister Mayra, I asked her to come pick up Hailey so that we could take Brianna to the hosptial. My sister (bless her heart) came quick the second she drove off with Hailey...

Brianna stopped breathing again!

So much for driving ourselves to CHOC. I ran out, I wasnt strong enough, my dear husband was (he had no choice)... he tried to resusitate her and get her to start breathing again as I ran to the street fell to my knees and called 911.

I need an ambulance NOW
My baby is not breathing
shes 5 months old
(gave her the address)
hysterically crying
"stay on the phone with me she asked"
I cant my baby is not breathing, I kept yelling at the poor 911 lady "you do not understand my baby is NOT breathing"
She went off about the ambulance is on its way...
I kept yelling and crying hysterically
HURRY
HURRY
PLEASE
PLEASE
HURRY shes still not breathing.

(now that I think of it I was never given instructions to do CPR on her)

All the neighboors were out staring at me, I heard the sirens of the ambulance and fire trucks in the distance.

HURRY HURRY HURRY PLEASE HURRY - I pleaded.

Just then I heard Brianna start crying... that meant SHE IS BREATHING!

I told the lady "shes crying" she said thats good we want her to keep crying as long as shes crying she is breathing... (I had never been so happy to hear a babys cry until this day).

The ambulance arrived, she was breathing but very pale they quickly put oxygen on her and put her and my husband in the ambulance. I followed the ambulance. One thing I will never forget the ambulance turned into a dead end to turn around because it couldnt just back up from where it was and I was so nervous that I followed the ambulance and made a U turn also instead of waiting for it to turn around.

So much for CHOC.

We were taken into Anaheim Memorial Hospital, again. I hate this hospital.

Once there, they rushed her in and Brianna continued to have these "not breathing" episodes as we didnt know what they were yet or why they were happening. The doctors didnt know what to do with her. They immediately called CHOC "come get this baby we do not know how to care for her"... doctors at CHOC asked Anaheim Memorial Hospital to perform a CT Scan of Brianna's head and start an IV and put her on oxygen until they sent a transport ambulance for her.

They did the CT Scan (this was horrific for us to watch, as this was all very scary for 18 and 24 year old parents at the time.

The nurses in the ER couldnt get an IV in, once CHOC's transport got there they HAD to put one in they were not allowed to drive her to CHOC without a line.
They poked her legs, no luck, her arms, no luck. Finally they said we have to try her neck or forehead... I just about fainted. I couldnt choose... I walked outside of the curtains (to this day I assume my husband decided). They put the IV line on her forhead... hearing her cry almost killed me. I almost couldnt breathe everyone stared at me crying. To open the curtains again walk in and see my baby with an IV line on her forehead was too much for me, I didnt even know they could do that much less did I expect my child to get one there.

They were ready to transport her to CHOC... at this time it was already March 09,2008 maybe 1 am?

My husband rode in the ambulance I was too weak. I took the streets they took the freeway.

When I arrived at the hospital and they finally told me to what floor to go to (PICU pediatric intensive care unit) my heart sunk more, I felt a thousand punches to my stomach.

When I finally got to the room... there was no baby. Only my husband. I frrrrrreaked! Where is she I asked? He said they took her down to do a film study on her stomach... basically an endoscopy but at the time we described it as putting a tiny camera down her throat to see what was going on in her tummy that was causing this.

I was impatient I think every minute I asked about "baby Serrano" when finally two nurses came to get us.... oh Lord, I thought why are they comming to get us why cant they bring Brie back. They asked us to walk with them downstairs... a million questions were in my head.

When we got there they began to explain that Brianna had her intestinines all twisted and backwards they call this intestinal malrotation and a bowel obstruction. That they needed to perform surgery IMMEDIATELY and that the surgeon was on his way... it was now a little passed 2 am. I fell to the floor I was in shock I couldnt cry... I just stared at my precious chubby little baby girl sucking on a bottle nipple because they lost her pacifier. I got put I went to the crib and caressed her, kissed her, prayed for her, and began to cry.

The surgeon arrived (Dr. Lam), sweet short asian man... He got called in the middle of the night in his sleep to rush to the hospital to operate my baby...

He started to carefully explain the procedure to us (not only were they going to correct the malrotation and take out the obstructed part and reattach her intestines but also remove her apendix, I didnt want to hear it... what was happening, this wasnt supposed to happen, not my child, not my baby, was I dreaming?

I will never forget when I told the doctor "how are you going to do surgery on a little baby when you dont even know why she stops breathing" he then said the following I would probably bet exact words "we will watch her carefully, she will have a ventilator breathing for her, if we dont operate her in the next couple of hours she will not make it"....

That shut me up.

They made me sign a bunch of concents I didnt read... I gave Brianna a kiss and her blessings... so did Dad... they took her to the operating room.

They took us to the waiting room... another MOST horrible moment of our lives.

As we waited a priest came to us (St Joe's were they performed the surgery is a catholic hospital) and asked us if we wanted her to baptize Brianna before surgery... my heart was kicked a thousand times "why" "can she die" "will she die" I finally said yes.

Brianna was Baptized in St Josephs Hospital alone in the surgery room sometime around 3 a.m 3/09/2008

I walked the hospital floors crying for hours, my husband on his knees praying... for hours.

Finally Dr Lam came out and said the surgery was done, everything went well. As soon as she is ready we will take her up to a room in PICU at CHOC and someone will come get you to go see her. I hugged him.

More to come in After 1st surgery and ACC Diagnose!

Thanks for reading, LOVE.

Araceli