Sophia and Dakota’s 15 month old daughter Rhea is currently in the hospital for respiratory failure. There are many unknowns, and her hospital stay continues to be extended.
What they do know:
• Sophia and Dakota rushed her to the emergency room for respiratory failure Wednesday morning (6/4).
• She was admitted later that afternoon to the pediatric intensive care unit.
• This is her second hospital admission (and 3rd ER visit) in less than two months for pneumonia and respiratory issues. She has also seen her pediatrician nearly weekly since her first respiratory event. The doctors say that her continued condition is likely the result of larger, but still unknown, issues. An immunology team is working to find the root of these recurring respiratory issues, so they can keep her healthy in the future.
• This round of pneumonia happened before she was fully recovered from the first illness in mid April, so this sickness is significantly worse than the first episode.
• She is currently intubated, sedated, has two IVs, a central line, and an arterial line. She is mostly stable, but when they tried taking her off the ventilator, both lungs partially collapsed, so she remains unable to breathe without assistance.
• The doctors are doing everything they can, but her anticipated extubation and discharge date keeps getting moved back because of complications.
• She is fierce, and needs a lot of drugs to keep her down!
What they don’t know:
• Why this is happening.
• What this means for her health down the line.
• If this is a symptom of a larger issue (they believe it probably is).
• When she will get to come home.
If you are in the position to, please consider donating any amount to help offset the cost of mounting medical bills and required home renovations for asthma treatment (such as duct cleaning, dehumidifiers, air filtration, and purification systems, etc.)
The anticipated renovations alone are estimated to be in the thousands of dollars, and that’s not even counting the growing medical bills (beyond insurance coverage) as Rhea’s hospital stay continues to be extended.
Sophia and Dakota are currently alternating every 24 hours between staying with Rhea at the hospital and spending time at home with her twin sister Nora. Nora misses her sister so much, and is currently not able to visit because Rhea gets too excited and fights through the sedation when hearing her sister’s voice.
Nora and mom and dad want to bring Rhea home to the healthiest environment possible for her to continue to heal and thrive.
Please consider donating any amount you can to help this sweet family through this scary time.
*Rhea and Nora’s faces are covered in photos to protect their privacy as fundraiser is a public platform.
