******HOME UPDATE
I want to thank everyone that has emailed or called regarding Camy. It really has meant so much to our family all the concerns, thoughts & prayers. It has been three weeks since the surgery & Camy seems to being GREAT, for the most part. She is still in a lot of pain but that is to be expected after such a major surgery. They did have a set back once she got home, her older sister had strep and little Ms. Camy got it also. They were very concerned because she was not drinking but once her antibiotic kicked in she felt a lot better & started drinking & eating.
They have felt encouraged since the surgery and has been able to see some progress in her due to speech & physical abilities. She has started her therapy again & hopefully they will be able to see some progress in her as well.
As we have seen what the Power of Prayer can do we would appreciate if you would still keep her in your thoughts because the doctors have said since they were not able to remove the mass completely that it will grow back as she grows. This could be a procedure she will have to continue getting as her little body grows & I am not sure if that means in to her adult life (forgot to ask that one). We are just hoping at this point that the doctors could be wrong & it will not grow back. I know they are hoping not to go through this heartbreaking procedure with her again.
We thank you again & I want to apologize for the delay in this update. As we all know life can cause complete chaos & we have no time for the things we should be doing but have you running & doing things that was not planned.
******SUNDAY & MONDAY UPDATE
This has definitely been a roller coaster ride but what do you expect from such a major surgery. Yesterday I was finally going to go visit Camy (with me being sick I could not go earlier), my sister called & said they were not allowing Camy to have any visitors because they were concerned again with her stats. They wanted to run another sleep study & were going to take her off her pain medicine to see if that could be causing the oxygen problem. I can't imagine if she is still in so much pain with the medicine how she was going to be without medicine. Sometime though during the day they realized she was needing her pain medicine and they went ahead and gave her another dose. They are also having trouble getting her to drink any fluids. She continues to throw up, so that was another concern as well.
I waited until this morning to see what the results were showing today. They seem to fluctuate so much on a daily basis. They decided she has sleep apnea & when she does fall asleep it keeps showing her respiratory machine go down to 0, but she does not actually quit breathing. They said she starts crying when it starts becoming critical & then it seems to wake her up. They were not as worried about the oxygen/sleep apnea but said she could not go home until she started keeping fluids down.
Well tonight I received a call & my sister said they have come home!!! Wow, what a shock & a little confusing, but they said she may recover better in her own atmosphere. As long as they can keep liquids down her she should be fine but, if not, they live close enough to a hospital that they could get her there fast enough.
At this point, everyone is glad to be home but they are a little nervous & will have some sleepless night just monitoring her & making sure she keeps breathing. Once again we thank you all so much, you all have been so kind & we are hoping her progress will continue!!!
******SATURDAY UPDATE
Hallelujah, there is a new baby today at Riley Hospital!!! Last night they did the sleep study & 10 minutes into it they found what they needed, not sure exactly what it was that they found but it seemed to help. She has been a whole different baby today however they will still need to monitor her oxygen level while she sleeps. The doctor is very encouraged that her stats are normal .
There was a whole new atmosphere in her hospital room today & when I spoke to my sister their spirits were up!!!! Camy was actually alert & was starting to become mobile until she found out she was hooked up to a bunch of wires. Our little Camy has been touched by all of your prayers.
Our family cannot thank you enough for all of your thoughts and concerns. Each day we are looking for positive progress and one step closer to bringing her home.
******FRIDAY UPDATE
Do you ever wonder when you are put into a situation how much you could handle or how much strength you have to stay strong? I truthfully believe that God will only give us what we can handle and he must give mothers a whole lot of strength to pull us through when it comes to our children. It is bringing tears to their eyes each moment they keep looking at Camy. I wish I could update today with better news but unfortunately things have become worse. The doctor is now concerned with her stats. Her oxygen level has dropped immensely and that is even after they put her on oxygen. They thought the morphine was causing her oxygen to drop but without the morphine her blood pressure is extremely high due to the pain she is in. They are wanting to do a sleep study because they fear she will stop breathing while she is asleep. They are monitoring her closely.
It breaks my heart each time I talk to them, their voices seems more discouraged, but I know they are keeping strong for Camy.
Thanks again for the concerns & most definitely for the prayers
******THURSDAY UPDATE
Well, when they said today was going to be rough I am not sure if they expected to be so heart breaking. I just spoke to my sister & Camy is in a lot of pain. They tried to switch her to codeine but that was not working as well as the morphine, so they switched her back. She is running a high fever & is throwing up but the doctor said this is all part of it. She lost a lot of spinal fluid and her body has gone into shock. They are watching for fluid on her brain because she is very swollen. They have not let her come to completely yet, but she is crying & keeps saying "it hurts". Their hearts are aching because they can not do anything for her but just hold her.
Please keep praying because they said it looks like a few rough days are ahead, but they keep saying the surgery was still a success!!!
Thank you & we appreciate all the emails & your thoughts
******UPDATE AFTER SURGERY
WOW, Judy Publow you are so right the Power of Prayer is Amazing!!! First of all I want to thank everyone for their prayers, thoughts concerns & the emails. They are very much appreciated. The surgery did not get started until about 1:30pm and was told it would be a minimum of 4 hours. The nurse kept coming out with updates and letting them know how things were going, but the last one at 5:30 brought tears to everyone's eyes. They said everything went beautifully which was a huge relief for everyone and that the doctor wanted to talk to Matt & Amy (parents) alone after they stitched her up. Once Amy talked to the doctor she said that the mass was so large that is was growing down through her spinal cord and there was so much pressure that it even broke off 2 of the little bones at the bottom of her brain stem. (For all my friends that are nurses I am sure I am not saying everything medically correct but bear with me). The doctor said she has been in a lot of pain but they feel like the surgery was a success!!! They even let her come to a little and she was able to move her arms & legs, what a MIRACLE!!! They said tomorrow would be a rough day and things should start looking up from there.
I wanted to let everyone know that I may not be able to respond to all your emails, but I woke up with this nasty flu/cold that everyone seems to have & it has really got me down today. So, I was not able to go to the hospital, which was very disappointing but I knew they did not need my nasty germs there!!!
I will keep you updated as the week goes on because she will be at the hospital for 7 days. We still appreciate the thoughts & prayers for our little miracle baby for a speedy and pain free recovery!!!
******NIGHT BEFORE SURGERY
We are sending this post to all of our loved ones to ask you to please keep our great niece Camryn (Camy) Quiggins (Amy's daughter) in your thoughts and prayers. She will be having very risky brain surgery tomorrow, Wed. Feb. 27, at Riley Hospital at 12:00pm. She has had a mass growing on the rear of her brain and it has wrapped around her brain stem and spinal cord. The growth has started growing very rapidly and, if not removed, will cause her to suffocate. The presssure from the growth causes her to choke when she eats and prevents her from sleeping due to her airwave closing off when she lies down.
As you look at this precious little girl, who will turn 2 next month, it does not appear that there are any problems but the growth has affected her sight, speech & hearing. They are hoping after the surgery all of her functions will return. The neurologist did not want to do this procedure because she is so young but they have no choice now. They will be removing some of her brain, brain stem and a part of her spinal cord. Camy and her family will have a rough and long recovery after the surgery. They are estimating the recovery time to be 4 months to a year - involving intense therapy and possibly paralysis.
We really need your prayers for Camy and her family. My sister and Amy just keep saying they hope the neurologist gets a good night sleep and has a steady hand!!! As you can imagine, they are tremendously concerned with this delicate procedure.
Thank you so much for keeping Amy and her family in your thoughts and prayers. I will send an update tomorrow night once I get home from the hospital.
Chad, Terri, Dalen & Annalei
