A tragedy caused by the most rare reason a year ago helped this mother identify the problem with her daughter!

The Acute Problems

Doctors found out that Elianna was suffering from aspiration pneumonia and had to be on oxygen to rely on it to breathe. They tried removing the tubes and let her try to breathe on her own but she failed to and her levels dropped quickly so she had to be put back on oxygen again. Even by the second dose of antibiotics, there was no improvement in her condition. Her fevers were still high. Nothing seemed to be working till now and Lacey was on the edge of her anxiety. 

Was it too late?

It is true that initially Lacey had not thought much of Elianna’s fever and throwing up but the moment she realized that it could have been a case of dry drowning, she lost no time and rushed her daughter to the hospital. Even then nothing seemed to be working- Elianna’s oxygen levels were continuously dropping. If she lost her daughter even after acting on her parental and worry instincts Lacey would not have been able to forgive herself. But then something happened. 

Sigh Of Relief

After being on the edge of anxiety for some hours, Lacey received news that finally let her breathe. Elianna’s heart rate had finally lowered and that was a good news. Lacey recollected, “at least two doctors now have told us “thank God you got her here when you did”. “All the major things going wrong are things you would NEVER notice by looking at her.” This came as a major relief to Lacey. She had done her job of bringing her daughter to help at the right time. Now she could just pray. 

Elianna’s Treatment

After it was identified that what was happening to Elianna was ‘dry drowning’ the doctors immediately put her up on antibiotics which helped her lungs to get rid of the chemicals from the pool. She was kept until she was fever free, her chest X-ray did not show any blockage and could sleep through the entire night without any drastic changes in her oxygen levels. If she had required oxygen more than 3 liters she would have been transferred to Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

2 Days Later…

After that Elianna only got better and was recovering. 2 days after she was admitted to the hospital, after administering of strong antibiotics, she was eventually capable to breathe on her own again and the wheezing stopped. Elianna’s was not a typical case of secondary drowning but Lacey in her mind is sure that she would not have been able to save her daughter or get appropriate help in time if it was not for that article about Frankie. And she admits that on the video ahead. 

Her Plea

After all that Lacey, her family, and Elianna had been through Lacey has one request to make to all parents. She says, “If your child swallows/inhales a bunch of water, and something seems off AT ALL, I encourage you to immediately get help. I wonder if I would have taken her Monday, would she be better off?? And I wonder if I waited longer what would have happened. It’s so scary.” It is true that sometimes parents’ concern turns out to be nothing serious but it is always better to be safe than sorry.