11-6-2024
On Monday, November 4, Hannah inadvertently swallowed one bite of a brownie made with peanut flour. She ran back to her dorm and immediately began throwing up and breaking out with hives. She had swelling around her mouth and complained of pain over her entire body. When she stopped throwing up several minutes later, she called us, and we remained on the phone with her until we arrived at her dorm room 45 minutes later. While driving, we also notified a family friend, who is a nurse, and she arrived well before we did. A little Benadryl was given to help with this initial reaction, and a few minutes later, her mom was at her side, and she seemed to be doing better. Hannah then climbed into her bed on the top bunk and laid down on her stomach to rest, then rolled onto her side, but then she curled up and began to experience more intense pain and shortness of breath. She told her mom where her EpiPen was and then began to climb down out of her bed. While coming down the ladder, she lost consciousness and became unresponsive before reaching the ground. The first EpiPen was administered, and 911 was called. She was then carried down to the first floor where I picked her up and carried her outside. I held her upright, in my arms, and facing me until the EMTs arrived a few minutes later. She was taken into the ambulance with a “thready” pulse and unable to breathe. Once inside she was given a second EpiPen, but her heart stopped for about 4 minutes until the EMS staff was able to get it going again. An airway tube was inserted, then they transported her to the Watertown hospital only a few minutes away, but there were still complications.
The doctors at the hospital took immediate action, but there was difficulty raising her blood oxygen level. She required transport to a larger hospital as soon as possible, so arrangements were made for her to go to Froedtert hospital in Milwaukee. The Froedtert staff asked for some initial imaging and blood work to be done while transportation was being arranged. After an hour in the emergency room an Xray showed that her right lung had collapsed, so the doctors immediately inserted a chest tube to “reinflate” it. She was heavily sedated and given additional medication to paralyze her. Due to rainy weather that night, a medical helicopter was not an option, so a private ambulance had to be found to transport her, but it took an hour to arrive, and then another hour was necessary to prep her before they left Watertown. While in transport, she began experiencing seizures, and when she arrived at Froedtert, thorough testing was immediately performed by their vast and amazing staff. Medications were given and she was put into a deep coma in an attempt to prevent more seizures, relax her body, and allow the brain to heal. Although her body was not able to seize, the EEG showed that her brain was still trying to seize multiple times throughout the day on Tuesday. More medication was added and adjustments were made to prevent her brain from “seizing”.
This has helped, and the neurology team is pleased with this improvement. She remains on a ventilator with oxygen, 9 “iv” bags of medication, a feeding tube, chest tube, and constant live EEG monitoring her brain activity. Imaging has shown no specific “physical” damage to the brain yet, but the MRI after 48 hours will be the first accurate, comprehensive test to initially determine the brain’s status before they attempt to lower medication and try to bring her brain “back up online”, once her medical team deems her strong enough to try. The true condition of her brain, and it’s ability to function properly, is far from clear. The damage is not visible to imaging yet. Sorry, this is just a brief, hurried attempt to explain the situation as we know it. We greatly appreciate the kind thoughts and prayers of all our friends and family! We thank you, Hannah thanks you, and we look forward to providing further updates as they happen. The Lord is in control, and He has a plan for each of us.
Hannah Helps 