Our lives will never be the same and my grief is absolutely overwhelming.
From Laura -
On Oct. 16, 2009 my only granchild was sleeping over at my house. I helped her shower and then said goodnight as she went to bed. at 3:30 in the morning she knocked on my door and stated that she needed a breathing treatment, she has had asthma her entire life. I went downstairs and helped her put the albuterol into her nebulizer, (she carried this machine in her backpack wherever she went). this time though, she was not breathing any better. I asked her where her rescue inhaler was and she stated, “I forgot it”. My husband and I put her in the car and began to drive to the ER, which is about 8 minutes from our house. halfway there she suddenly stopped breathing. I checked for her respiration and there was none. I attempted to open her airway and give her a rescue breath, but was unable to get any air into her lungs. I looked up and saw an ambulance driving by and my husband called 911. we thought this was a miracle as the ambulance pulled into the firestation and less than a minute had passed. I told the paramedic that Lauren had an asthma attack and now has stopped breathing. I told him to quickly intubate her as her lungs were ‘clamped down’, a condition called status asmaticus. the police came and took a report and my husband and I continued to the E.R . When we arrived Lauren was intubted and on a vent. I spoke with the paramedic and he told us that he was unable to get much air into her either. I asked him if he had intubated her as I directed. He stated that he was unable to intubate a pediatric patient, that he was forced to wait until she arrived at the E.,R. I knew then that although she still had a pulse, that she must be brain dead. My miracle had turned into a nightmare. Only six months prior, the ambulance company stopped intubating pediatric patients in the field. The paramedic was also distraught, stating, “I knew something like this was going to happen when they pulled all of our pediatric endotracheal tubes from all ambulances.” I later heard that he went out on leave and was unable to work.
Lauren could have lived, but due to a new ambulance policy, she lost her life. Our lives will never be the same and my grief is absolutely overwhelming.
