Chase B.
Tennessee
Birth Date - November 13 2001
Main Diagnosis - Cerebral palsy
THEME: SUPERHEROES (Batman, Hulk, Green Lantern, Spiderman (any of the
Marvel/DC comics superheroes) AND NINJA TURTLES
Quilt Deadline:6/1/2014
Chase's Story
Our little Superhero, Chase Beech, come into this world clinging to life. You see, his mommy had to be rushed into surgery for an emergency c-section after it was discovered she was having a placental abruption, The time it took to diagnose and act in this crisis - nearly killed both mommy and baby. The neonatologist said when he was born, he was the color of a pair of gray sweatpants. He was immediately whisked away to the NICU. There he immediately began having seizures, couldn't breathe without assistance from a ventilator, and fairly quickly diagnosed with multi system organ failure. The result of an HIE event - or hypoxia (lack of oxygen) caused by ischemia (lack of blood flow) caused global brain damage.
We were told it would be touch and go - there was no guarantee he would survive, and if he did, there was no way to know the level of brain damage/level of functioning he would have. All we knew is that it was in God's hands - and the prayer chains were activated. After many medical complications and setbacks - we're took our baby home with an MRI confirming significant brain injury and a determination to do whatever we could to make sure he had the best life possible.
We had many ups and downs the next three years. Chase was dx with cerebral palsy at 6 months old - as well as epilepsy and severe reflux, He would make great progress, only to have seizures return and steal what he had worked so hard to achieve. But we sought out the best doctors and best therapists - and begin to see him make real progress. It took quite the cocktail of medications, but we were able to get his seizures pretty well controlled. With intensive PT, AFO's, Botox injections and muscle relaxers - Chase was able to transition from a wheelchair - to a gait trainer - to a walker - to semi-independent walking. With the right equipment and a complicated medicine regime - our new normal seemed to stabilize.
That is until August, 2005. Chase was admitted to the local Children's hospital for high fever and an extremely high white blood count - blood cultures determined he had a bacterial infection. IV antibiotics were started and after a week and half we were discharged, only to be re-admitted 2 days later dx with c-diffe, Chase had always had terrible reflux and vomiting and intestinal problems - which combined with the C-diffe led to him having a central line (long term access - like an IV in your heart) thru which he could get the needed antibiotics and nutrition.
This started a series of issues that nearly killed him multiple times - the worst being when he ended up in septic shock in ICU on an oscillating ventilator with nitric oxide. It was God's grace that allowed him to survive such a horrible nightmarish ordeal - and it was not without serious complications. MRI's showed he had suffered yet another brain injury - this second insult resulted in far more serious medical complications - he was diagnosed with dysautonomia - meaning he has trouble regulating his body temperature, he has hypertension when awake and hypotension when sleeping, He has hypothyroidism, short gut syndrome, neurogenic bladder, TPN/lipid dependent, gj tube for medication, swallowing issues, seizure disorder, cerebral palsy, and autism to name a few.
In March - he was admitted for a CVL infection with resulted in a sepsis. He had positive blood cultures for over 5 days - and he had to have his central line pulled and a PICC line placed so he could receive the necessary antibiotics. After 10 days, he had surgery to have another broviac placed for his iv nutrition. He was most recently in the hospital for the mitrofanoff surgery or appendicovesicostomy - in this procedure, the surgeon separates the appendix from its attachment to the cecum, while maintaining its blood supply, then creates an opening at its blind end and washes it. One end is connected by surgical sutures to the urinary bladder, and the other is connected to the skin to form a stoma. Generally, an incision is made into the umbilicus so it may serve as the canal for the catheter - allowing for his catheters to be placed through the stoma in his bellybutton. In January, we will be working with Dr. Sawyer, his orthopedic doctor, to start a series of botox injection in his legs to reduce spasticity.
For all that Chase has been through and goes through - he is the smartest, funniest, most loving child I know. You can't help but be inspired by his attitude and personality. He has gone through more than I can imagine, but always has a smile. His life will never be easy- he faces future surgeries and will always be on medications/need therapies. We just feel honored God chose us to be the parents of this amazing Superhero Chase - and look forward to seeing what his future brings.
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"Thank You"
I can NOT tell you how blessed we feel at receiving this amazing work of art - it really is just THE most amazing quilt I have ever seen - the quality of the work - of each square - you can feel the love put into it. He loves it - it is everything he loves in one place. You are all amazing - and thank you does not seem enough!!
