April, 2005

April 14th, 2005 and it was decided to have you go to JFK hospital and meet with Dr. Medina. He is a gastro specialist and he wanted to evaluate you because of the excessive vomiting. He ran routine tests and then decided to have a cat scan done of your head. We had been in the emergency room from 2 p.m until midnight. We first went to cat scan and then they took you to the Pediatrics wing. I went home at 2 a.m. to get some sleep but woke early and came back to see you. I was informed that there was a problem with the cat scan and they called in a Neurologist. I then called Dad to come to the hospital because I felt it was serious and I did not want to be there alone.

Dr. Mitchell came in at 5 p.m. and informed us of the seriousness of the situation. He said you had fluid on the brain and if they did not put a drain in as soon as possible you could die. They had you rushed to ICU and had the room set up for them to put a drain in your forehead to relieve the pressure. I just remember how weak you were and unresponsive. You had lost all your strength and ability to move or speak.

April 15th, 2005 and you were not responding to the decrease in pressure. Most of the time when pressure is relieved the patient becomes responsive and will open their eyes. You did not and there was much concern. It was decided at 3 p.m. you would go to cat scan and MRI and have further testing. They said it would take approximately 3 hours and we should go get something to eat and then go to the waiting room.
At 6 p.m. the nurse came in and escorted us to a conference room where we met with Dr. Mitchell. He informed us it was very serious and you may not make it through. There was a very massive infection and blockage in the ventricals. They were doing everything they could and had you on massive doses of antibiotic. I cried so hard and Dad was very upset as well. We had to think about a DNR, we believed in our hearts that if it was meant you would not recover and live your life as a vegetable we did not want you to be resuscitated.

I truly believed it was in God’s hands and all I could do was pray and be there for you. I decided to take a leave of absence from work and came every day to be with you and make sure you were well taken care of. The days were long and very scary at times. You had a team of Doctors working together to get you well.