The myocardia nightmare has a happy ending. Thank you to all who sent
messages and prayers. I have been so busy that I know I cannot respond
personally. In brief, the mom was transferred to Johns Hopkins, a
facility I can recommend for its technical AND personal qualities. They
saved this mother's life right before our eyes. As it turned out, her
chemotherapy from her childhood cancer had damaged her heart and this was
the underlying cause. She is out of CICU and focusing on physical therapy
to regain her strength. This was a powerful, life changing experience for
me.
I assessed the baby developmentally as soon as I arrived. She is healthy,
beautiful and perfectly normal. I held her night and day and brought her
to her mom every day. When we put the baby in her mom's arms, her heart
rate normalized. It was incredible. I believe that she gave her mom the
reason to fight to live. She is considered to have been born at 33 weeks,
not 35. But, her body does not hurt her, she is very organized
physiologically, and has a sweet personality.
Breastfeeding was lost in this situation, and all the offers of expressed
milk from me, her sisters, friends have so far not been acted upon. While I
understand that the focus was to save her life, I have suggested and do hope
that the parents revisit this issue. I am disappointed that when asked, the
physicians did not see the point or legitimacy of donated milk. I was able
to gently suggest that a mom might want the best for her baby, even if it
was from another woman, and also to suggest that nursing might empower and
nurture this mom, so maybe they will considered it now.
As for my personal decisions, this is such a public forum that I can't
explain it all. I appreciate all the input, and realized that ultimately,
in the quiet of the night hours, I would know what to do and I did. I will
always feel comfortable with how I cared for this baby. And she will have a
Mommy.
Relieved,
Joanne
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
