March 08 2008 First Surgery

March 08 2008, Brianna wasnt feeling good at all. She was throwing up non stop all day... no fever, but very lathargic and didnt keep anything down at all. She got to the point of throwing up bile (stomach acid). I recall being at KFC having lunch with my husband Angel, our older daughter Hailey, and baby Brianna and as we ate she was laying in her carseat on the floor next to us. When I looked down I was horrified by what I saw... there was a puddle of greenish brownish throw up all around her carseat on the floor and she was soken wet in her own throw up... I was horrified and scared. My apologies to the KFC personnel that were working that night because I grabbed my children and got in our car and drove to her pediatricians office (the one at the time Dr Garcia not her current one thank God)he took a look at her and said she was having a stomach virus to discontinue her formula and give her pedialyte only for 24 hours (she was still bottle fed at this moment). He said that if she wasnt improving within the next 12-18 hours to take her to the hospital, that she may have a bowl obstruction (worst case he said). We left the doctors office stopped by for some pedialyte bottles and went home. At home she wouldnt stop throwing up the throw up literally was splashed 2-3 feet away from her little body with force. She did not look good at ALL she looked very very sick something was horribly wrong... I called my oldest sister Mayra that afternoon and asked her if she could pick Hailey up and watch her for a bit so we could take Brianna to the ER to get checked out. I got both girls ready, Hailey to go with my sister for the evening and Brianna to be taken to the ER. My sister came by and picked up Hailey and wished us luck. The minute my sister drove off my husband began to yell out that Brianna was not breathing, I ran back into the house to see Brianna purple in the face not breathing I tried to grab her but the moment I grabbed her she fainted in my arms, I could not hold my baby in my arms fainted and not breathing again so I gave her to my husband and freaked out called 911... I yelled at the lady now petrified as heck that my then 5 1/2 month old baby was not breathing and that she was not responsive that she fainted and that I needed help I kept yelling please hurry please hurry my baby isnt breathing I was crying histerically (imagine that this now being the second time in my babys short life that I feared I was going to lose her I thought she was going to die) I was in the front lawn crying and screaming the lady continued to ask me to stay on the phone with her I just kept yelling "shes not breathing hurry, shes going to die, hurry, please hurry" she asked me to calm down several times I remember yelling at her "I cant I cant thats my baby please hurry, my baby, my baby, shes not breathing"... finally I heard her crying in the background (my poor husband was so strong during this time he stayed there trying and trying to get her to start breathing again, with her limb body, he never gave up... I on the other hand was not strong enough to watch this, not to watch my poor little baby go through this I could not bare for the life of me I couldnt watch I am surprised I was strong enough to call 911 and stay on the line with her until the ambulance arrived)... anyhow when I heard Brianna crying I started crying more and more I didnt run back inside to see my baby I couldnt but I had a big big feeling of relieve... I then told the lady on the phone that my baby was crying, she said that that was a very good sign to try to keep her crying as long as shes crying shes breathing she told me. I heard the sirens of the ambulance in the distance. I just kept yelling hurry hurry... the ambulance and firefighters finally arrived and they ran in for my baby, they put her on oxygen made me sit in the bed with her and put us in the ambulance and rushed us to the hospital. My husband drove and I rode in the ambulance.

Once at Anaheim Memorial, many many doctors came in and out in and out trying to figure out what was wrong with her... Brianna continued to have these "episodes" she had 3-4 just at Anaheim Memorial in a matter of 2 hours... They didnt know what to do in the ER she scared them. I head them calling CHOC the Childrens Hospital of Orange County and asking them to come pick her up that they couldnt deal with her and had no idea what to do. CHOC requested that they did a CAT Scan of her head before they picked her up and that they put in an IV line while we waited for CHOC to send an ambulance transporter to pick her up. They wheeled her in to have a CT Scan of her head, I was in a daze in a blur I had no idea what was going on, I wanted this to be a night-mare I wanted to wake up. It was real, I wasnt going to wake up... ever. They took her back to the ER and told us that they would send the results to CHOC the childrens hospital that was on their way to pick her up.

By that time two nice ladies from CHOC ambulance transportaion was there to pick her up, they had not had time to put in an IV so the CHOC lady went ahead and attempted to put an IV as regulations they are not allowed to transport a patient without an IV line. They poked and poked her with no luck. They said her skin was too tick ((baby fat)) they told me that they had to try her forehead or her neck... I was HISTERICAL crying crying I said no no no you cant... I had never head of suck a thing... I couldnt watch, again my husband was strong and stayed holding down his baby girl as I was on the floor outside the curtains crying out for my baby. When the IV was in the sight of my baby girl with an IV on her forehead almost made me faint... the blood all over the sheets almost made me faint... she was ready to be transported.

My husband rode with her in the ambulance, I drove the car to the hospital...

When I got to the hospital they took me into the PICU (pediatrics intensive care unit)my husband sat alone crying... no baby... my heart sunk... where is she I asked. They took her down for some testing... what testing... they are doing a film study of her stomach and intestines. I tried to sit in the empty room with my husband patiently but I couldnt. I kept asking about her... when finally two nurses came into the room and asked us to go with them... oh no no no was my first thought, why whats wrong. "Follow us downstairs please"....

When we arrived I saw my chubby little baby in a metal crib sucking on the tip of a bottle because they lost her pacifier. I ran to her and hugged and kissed her, scared to take her out of the crib.

"We called the surgeon he is on his way" WHAT!!!!! Surgeon?!?!?!? Why? He will explain everything when he gets here, they told me. It was around 2 am.

The surgeon got there, and he was so sweet... and comforting. He told me that the film study they did showed that her intestines where twisted and had an obstruction they call this intestinal mal-rotation and that they had to do surgery right away to correct... that they would remove her apendix since they would be in there to prevent future problems. I was crying, I couldnt put it together I asked him why they were going to operate on a baby that was havign these spells of not breathing and fainting. He exlained to me that they would put her in a ventilator to breathe for her, he was so reassuring and confident. He said that he felt comfortable that the surgery would be ok. I remeber his exact words "If I dont do the surgery in teh next couple of hour she will not live". His assistant told me that he is the best surgeon they have that if her child had to have surgery that she would chose him. I cried and trusted my baby to them. I prayed by her side for a few minutes they wisked her away from me, the nurses made me sign a bunch of papers I didnt bother reading (liability stuff I am sure)... They put my husband and I in a waiting room infront of a Jesus statue (This is a catholic hospital) and I prayed and cryied so hard and loud the security guy had to come check on me. They called a priest to come talk to me, asked me if I wanted them to baptize Brianan before her surgery, I said yes.

Brianna received her christening alone... in a surgery room... under anestetics... while being prepared for a life saving surgery. After that they gave me the rosary they baptized her with, and I prayed and walked around and cried histerically, my husband cried and got down on his knees with me and prayed and held me.

About 4-5 hours later, the doctor came out and told me that the surgery was a success and that in a few minutes they would take us upstairs to see her once they transfered her into a PICU room. I hugged the doctor, I thanked God... and cried some more.

More to come...

Araceli