Start of the Complications
It was discovered soon after the procedure for the Caesarian began that the epidural my wife was given wasn’t taking full effect on one side of her body. Because it wasn’t taking effect I remember my wife looking at me and saying she could still feel pain. At that moment I could see the pain on her face and it was relayed to the team that she could feel what they were doing. They were able to give her serval local injections of pain/numbing meds. It wasn’t until the c section was complete with the umbilical cord being cut that she was able to receive more pain meds in the form of Morphine.
Seeing our daughter for the first time after delivery was life-changing. After months of waiting with anticipation and excitement, our daughter had finally arrived. The delivery to that point was uneventful and she was crying and screaming as they showed her to us. The next step was cutting the umbilical cord before she was taken to another area of the delivery room for initial assessments. After initially crying when she was delivered, it stopped almost immediately after they cut the cord. Post-delivery my wife was also having a tubal ligation and was put under anesthesia for the rest of the procedure. It was during the time my wife was under anesthesia that I could tell something was off in the delivery room.
At first, it was one nurse doing the post-delivery assessment on our daughter and she was quickly joined by others who were in the room and not helping with finishing up my wife’s procedure. After about 5 minutes she was taken to the nursery area of the birthing center with myself following. They let me know they were concerned about her color which was a shade of bluish-purple and not the pink they would normally see.
The Start of Advanced Care in the Birthing Center
After arriving in the nursery area of the birthing center, she was placed on oxygen. Shortly after being put on oxygen, the on-call pediatrician was called. Stat labs, and x-ray and respiratory therapy were also requested at that time.
I remember standing next to my daughter who was being worked by several nurses in the nursery evaluation area. She was so small, precious, and innocent. I was able to hold her hand briefly before being surrounded by staff. I could tell by her color which was still a bluish-purple hue that there was a serious problem. Watching her struggle to breathe and seeing the staff working to figure out what was wrong was taking its effect on me and my mind began to race.
During the pregnancy, I was going to school and had just completed three terms of anatomy and physiology months before our daughter’s birth. I was also certified as an EMT-Basic and had some understanding of what was occurring that morning. My mind was processing the situation including different scenarios and what may happen. The thought of losing her was one that crossed my mind and I had to make an effort to force it out.
As more staff arrived and the on-call pediatrician showed up, I was taken to an office in the birthing center to be given the details of the care and treatment that was upcoming. Before they could begin talking about what was happening I broke down and began crying uncontrollably. My wife still in surgery and our family including our son was in our room with no clue as to what was taking place. Feeling helpless doesn’t begin to describe the emotions. Thankfully one of the staff members was able to go get my parents so could sit with me while discussed further care including the need for her to transport to a children’s hospital. Within about 30 minutes of our daughter being born a special ambulance was called to transport her to a children’s hospital.
My Wife’s Procedure and Her Own Complications
While our daughter was struggling, my wife’s procedure was finishing up and she was moved to the recovery area. I met with the OB and his staff who were briefed on our daughter’s situation and then went to see my wife. The first time I saw her she was still heavily under the influence of the medication but awake. Trying to describe to her what was happening was difficult and due to the medication, it didn’t seem like she was understanding the severity. She kept mentioning her eyes were itching inside and was trying to scratch her eyes. We would later learn that my wife is allergic to the morphine she was given and was having a reaction to it.
Code Pink
Those that have been around a hospital, watched medical shows on TV, or work in the medical field are usually familiar with a code blue. A patient who is in cardiac or respiratory arrest. For infants who are just born the term code pink is used. While there was never a page sent through the hospital for a code pink enough staff was called in that she was considered a code pink. Beyond the birthing center staff, nurses from the ER, multiple respiratory therapists, the on-call pediatrician, and hospital admin were called to come to assist. The one memory I have that stands out the most was the inability to get an IV started on our daughter. Multiple people had attempted everywhere on her from her hands to her feet.
PANDA Team and Transport
The team that was sent to pick up our daughter was part of a unit from the children’s hospital called the PANDA team. PANDA short for Pediatric and Neonatal Doernbecher Ambulance. They arrived with a staff of three. Dallas was the paramedic who drove the ambulance, Katie the critical care pediatric nurse, and Shawn the pediatric respiratory therapist. Their expertise and experience joined together with the staff at the hospital and they immediately got to work stabilizing our daughter. Katie was able to get an IV rather quickly after so many others had tried. Shawn was able to intubate her and she was placed on a ventilator. I was impressed with the speed at which they were working, the care they were taking with our precious daughter, and the concern they showed while stabilizing her.
Once stabilized, our daughter was placed in what can only be described as an incubator on the cot to keep her warm. She was taken briefly to see my wife and our family in my wife’s room. We were able to get a few photos with everyone and we set off on our journey to Portland.
Having ridden in an ambulance before, this time was different for obvious reasons. It was slightly larger than a normal ambulance and was set up like a mobile pediatric ICU. I sat up front while Dallas drove and Shawn and Katie made sure to keep our daughter stabilized. We departed the local hospital with lights and sirens leaving behind my wife and family.
Arrival at OHSU
During the transport, I remember asking question after question about her care, our destination, and the hospital we were going to. Having never been to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital/OHSU or ‘The Hill’ as most refer to it. I was overwhelmed at the sprawling campus and the many hospitals in such close proximity.
Overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to describe the emotion experienced up to that point. Starting the day with excitement and nervousness to fear and the thought of losing our newborn daughter in a matter of hours. When we arrived at OHSU we entered and went to the NICU where I met with the staff and team who would be working to figure out what was going on.
The time of birth was 10:01 am and we were walking into OHSU at around 1:45 pm.