After what appeared to be a relatively good period where Lauren had avoided hospital we began to again develop sudden respiratory
infections. Much to our horror there were a number of occasions when formula came up when Lauren was suctioned. This meant
that Lauren was refluxing formula through her Fundoplication. After numerous tests were performed including a barium meal,
milk scan, gastric emptying study, 24 hour pH probe and finally a Gastroscopy it was proven convincingly that the Fundoplication
was no longer functioning. So two years down the track after the first Fundo the procedure is repeated but this time it had
to be done by open surgery technique. We were hoping that this would solve the problem of gastric refluxing leading to aspiration
pneumonia.
Within a couple of months we were back in hospital with another respiratory infection and a month later we were back
again. But this admission was different. We were strongly advised by the doctors that Lauren needed to be intubated
and connected to a ventilator. We reluctantly agreed to this because appearance wise she didnt seem to be in too much distress.
We were very relieved when she responded well to being intubated and was successfully extubated a few hours later. Her recovery
in ICU was very slow this time, not at all like previous admissions. She bounced up and down between ICU and the ward a number
of times, there was definitely something not quite right. After more incidents of formula being suctioned up it was apparent
that Laurens muscle spasms were so strong that they were responsible for her stomach contents being forced up through the
fundoplication. We decided to change her feeding routine to take pressure off her stomach. Bolus feeds were replaced with
a combination of smaller bolus feeds and pump feeding over a longer period of time. She appeared alot happier generally
with lots of smiles and really good reports from school about how much she is enjoying the activities. We have ceased using
the herbal supplements for almost a year now and Lauren doesn't appear to be any worse off. The fact that we have been able
to avoid hospital lately suggests that the change in feeding routine has been significant to her general health and well being.
The annual review of her vision by her Ophthalmologist in December, 2002 revealed a significant change. She was found to
be short sighted and was subsequently prescribed glasses to correct the problem. She doesn't seem to mind them and there have
been many comments from people saying how much more alert she appears to be. A similar review of her hearing in April, 2003
has resulted in hearing aids being fitted again to try and improve her ability to pick up and respond to sounds. We are
no longer using the hearing aids.
The main health issue that we have been dealing with has been
recurring respiratory infections. This was exascerbated in 2004 when a series of
overnight sleep studies identified issues with the quality of Lauren's sleep
and breathing at night. She was retaining carbon dioxide and experiencing
obstructive sleep apneos, the quality of her sleep was really poor. Surgical
intervention for adenoid and tonsil removal was ruled out because of the risks
involved so nocturnal supplemental oxygen support was introduced. Lauren seemed
to benefit from the extra oxygen at night but after another sleep study it was
decided to use BiPAP at night supplemented with oxygen during the day to assist
the quality of her breathing. Soon after using humidified BiPAP at night Lauren
was hit with a series of severe respiratory infections and it was found that she
had developed the bacterium pseudomonas in her lungs. This resulted in the need
for even more intense medical intervention and support. Her oxygen dependency
increased and there was a need to administer more antibiotics orally,
intravenously and even nebulized to help suppress the pseudomonas. It was
apparent after a few months that Lauren was working against the BiPAP and that
it was probably doing her more harm than good, so we stopped using it at the
beginning of 2006.
The last twelve months have seen Lauren doing really well health wise and she
has been very happy. We were very surprised when she suddenly took ill with
another respiratory infection. We weren't to know that this was the one she was
not going to beat. After two and a half weeks in intensive care, when we all
thought she was on the road to recovery, she crashed while having phsiotherapy
and needed to be intubated for the third time during this admission. This was a
very difficult intubation and it was apparent that she had enough, it was time
to let her rest. We always felt that we would know when the time was right
to let go and allow her to rest in peace. Lauren passed away quickly and
peacefully in her mother's arms with me beside her when the ventilator was
turned off. Eventually after many tears, hugs and kisses we said our final
goodbyes and left Lauren lying ever so peacefully with her special Dolly beside
her.
We are committed to ensuring that her life is happy and meaningful despite the pain and discomfort we
know she experiences. Her irresistible smile is what you long to see and this has brought much pleasure to all those who know
her. We will continue to try and obtain a formal diagnosis for Laurens condition, to fully substantiate if it has a genetic
cause and let medical professionals know how important a diagnosis is to a family.