As a nurse practitioner at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and Rotary Flame House, Allison knows
that family centred care is at the heart of the hospital. She never fully knew how important it is to a family though, until she experienced it firsthand last year, when her daughter Eliana needed critical care specialists to save her life.
Eliana and her older sister had both been sick with colds. Then one morning, Allison looked at her on the baby monitor and noticed she hadn’t moved much. When she went to check on her, she found her listless, warm to the touch, lethargic and semi responsive in her crib. She took her temperature and found she had a fever. Then, she had a small seizure. She rushed her to the Emergency Department, and she was taken to the trauma room right away where doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists surrounded her. She was sent for an MRI and admitted to Unit 3. Strangely, an EEG found no seizure activity. And Allison hoped she would be able to take Eliana home in time for their planned family cruise a few days later. Then two days later, Eliana had another seizure.
She was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and given an NG tube for rescue medication because her veins were difficult for an IV. Thankfully with the help of a point of care ultrasound, funded by Radiothon, specialists could insert a central line into her neck for fluid and other medications she may need.
While in the PICU, Allison met the Neurocritical Care team, led by Dr. Michael Esser who started closely monitoring her seizure activity. Dr. Esser diagnosed Eliana with a rare form of hemiconvulsion-hemiplegia-epilepsy (HHE) – the first case seen here at Alberta Children’s Hospital. A second MRI found inflammation on the left side of Eliana’s brain. Dr. Esser started her on steroids and IVIG treatments. To let her brain rest, she was intubated and placed into an induced coma and closely monitored for the next 48 hours. Allison couldn’t help but worry if she would have the same little girl when she woke up. Before she became sick, she had just begun to crawl.
Gratefully, Eliana woke up and recovered and thankfully, has not had a seizure since that day she was intubated. She spent five weeks on Unit 3 undergoing rehab, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech therapy and IVIG treatments in Medical Day Treatment. For IVIG, she relied on the Vein Viewer, funded by Radiothon to help nurses located her difficult veins. She remains on anti-seizure medication and is followed by ECR for rehabilitation and her neuro team for mobility delays on her right side.
When Eliana left the hospital, she couldn’t sit up. Now, she is walking around at home, all thanks to her incredible team of specialists who saved her life and her quality of life. Her mom feels even more proud to work at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.
