Thomas H.
Wisconsin
Birth Date - December 29, 2012
Main Diagnosis - Broncopulmonary Dysplasia
Quilt donated by Cross Stitch Addicts group.
Thank you:
I'm overcome with emotion, the quilts are absolutely beautiful and perfect. I actually cried (still am as I write). Thank you so much for such an amazing gift. We will cherish these quilts for a lifetime. Thank you again.
Thomas' Story
Thomas was a micro preemie born at 24 weeks gestation. He weighed 1 pound 2.7 ounces and was 10.6 inches long. He had many struggles at birth. H.is blood pressure was very high and he needed several blood transfusions. At 3 weeks old, Thomas was flown to a bigger hospital for emergency heart surgery. He had a clip put on a valve in his heart, also known as a PDA ligation. He almost didn't survive, as his lungs were filled with blood. The surgery saved his life, and two weeks later he was flown back to our local children's hospital NICU. He was doing well, but then got an infection. He went into respiratory failure and took over a month to recover.
Thomas coded at 3 month's old. His heart stopped and was oxygen deprived for over 4 minutes. The damage that was done was extensive to his already sick lungs. They didn't know if he would survive. He was in a coma for 3 weeks, and when he woke up, he smiled at me and I knew he would be here a long time. The doctors tried to extubate Thomas on several occasions, but he was never successful with breathing on his own for more than a few days.
At 6 month's old Thomas was flown back to the larger children's hospital to have a tracheostomy. He had a gtube placed at the same time. After several more infections, pnemonia, and set backs he was 5 more month's inpatient. Thomas finally came home 11 month's after he was born. He had a trach, was 24/7 ventilator dependent, oxygen dependent, and feeding tube dependent.
Thomas is now 4 yrs old. He is still trach dependent, uses his ventilator while sleeping, and is still on a high amount of oxygen. He eats some foods by mouth but is primarily gtube fed. He started walking when he was 3, and is using sign language to communicate. He has sensory processing disorder and has a hard time with touch and texture. He goes to Early Childhood Intervention 4 days a week and participates in Pt/Ot/and Speech. He has a home nurse 20 hours a day to help keep him safe.
