Charlotte Downey

With no hint of any problems Charlotte was delivered on May 30, 2004 via C-section. Immediately the nurses knew something was wrong as they rushed her to the NICU while Mike and Linda, her parents, waited anxiously for some news. Finally Dr. Donnelly, the cardiologist on call that night, was able to determine that the 4 pulmonary veins that bring oxygenated blood from the lungs back to the heart were not attached and therefore unable to deliver O2 to be circulated.

Charlotte was emergency transported to NY Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital to have open heart surgery at 12 hours old to attach the veins- if possible. Although the surgery was successful, Charlotte's heart began to fail in recovery and she was put on a machine called ECMO, a very high risk, last choice technology to help her recover. ECMO gave Charlotte a stroke at 9 days old which eventually required a shunt to be placed in her head. Also her kidneys were damaged eventually requiring a transplant. Charlotte came home the first time at 6 months old and tried to recover from her rough start.

On Oct 1 2005 Charlotte went to Morristown hospital with some breathing difficulty. Reflux had caused aspiration of fluid into her lungs and she was again transported on a ventilator into NY where she stayed from Oct 2 to April 2006. A second open heart surgery, dialysis, cardiac arrest, sepsis and finally the transplant all added to her lengthy stay. But with a new kidney and a good heart Charlotte worked on getting stronger and catching up. Then in Dec. 2006 RSV got a hold of her and Charlotte went back to Columbia with bronchiolitis and needing ventilator support.

The vent blew 5 holes in her lungs from the pressure required to get her O2 with such sick lung tissue. She had chest tubes in each hole and was put on an Oscillator-a specialized ventilator that breathes 428 tiny breaths per minute to alleviate the pressure. After 11 weeks Charlotte was weaned off and again breathing on her own and finally came home in June 2007. By her third birthday Charlotte had spent a total of 20 months in the hospital, 16 of them in critical care and a total of nearly 6 months on a ventilator.

The past year she has been well, happy and home. We know we are blessed with an amazing little girl and we are thankful for her time at home growing and learning every day.