The story so far... (as of 5-2-11)

Originally sent out by Uncle Chris as a Piperfire e-mail & was altered so we (Lauren, Tyler, & Ethan) could start Cameron's blog.

Jennifer and JP asked me to send out an update on their son, Cameron, whom many of you know was transported from Helen Ellis Hospital to All Children’s Hospital Friday with seizures.  He is still fighting for his life this morning, but we wanted to start this blog to keep everyone informed.  We will relay as much information as we have as accurately as we can and will keep you updated on Cameron’s condition. 

Cameron had been sick with a fever for two or three days.  He had breaks in his fever, but was lethargic and extremely tired.  He is normally a very active kid.  On Friday morning as Cameron’s dad, Howie, was getting Cameron’s brothers Tyler and Ethan ready for school, Cameron started having seizures.  He was rushed by ambulance to Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital . 

Initial diagnosis was that he was having seizures from a high fever and the CAT scan of Cameron’s brain that was performed at Helen Ellis showed no abnormalities.  When family arrived at All Children’s Hospital at about 5:00, Cameron had been their about 2 hours and he still hadn’t regained consciousness and was still having seizures.  The doctor’s were about to perform a spinal tap on him to check for Meningitis when his heart rate and blood pressure spiked.  This caused the team to hold up and they called in a specialist.  It was determined that Cameron’s brain had swelled to a point where it was pushing against his skull to the point that the folds of his brain were undetectable.  They rushed Cameron into emergency surgery and removed the front half of his skull to allow his brain to continue to swell.  The doctor said later that if they had done the spinal tap, he would have died at that moment. 

On Friday night they met with the doctor and he informed them that Cameron would most likely not make it through the weekend.  There was a small hope, 1 in a 1000 perhaps that he would be able to make it through.  Overnight, his condition deteriorated.  His internal organs started to fail.  His pancreas failed, his liver and kidneys started to bleed.  His left ventricle had also stopped working properly.  Saturday morning the doctors informed family that Cameron wouldn’t make it through the day.  We were brought in to see him Saturday about noon.  Up until that point we didn’t know what was happening and as a family, they were trying to keep it quiet so that we wouldn’t hear about it until Jen and JP had decided it was time.  As a family, we grieved throughout the day.  We said many, many prayers and we appreciate the prayers from all of you, your family, and your churches.  By Saturday night, the doctor informed Jenn and JP that there was some minor improvement and that he had upgraded his outlook by the slightest margin.  You can imagine our relief and joy at what many of us believed was an answer to prayer. 

On Sunday Cameron’s kidney function improved marginally, his pancreas function seemed to be improving, and his heart seemed to be getting a little stronger.  By last night they had changed out the ventilator that is keeping Cameron alive to one that will make him start to breathe more normally.  He is fighting for his life. 

Cameron currently has 24 I.V.’s and is hooked up to more machines than we thought existed.  He has at least one nurse at his bedside almost constantly.  The care he is getting is truly without equal anywhere.   

The doctor’s haven’t definitively diagnosed Cameron, but right now believe that he has Encephalitis, contracted from a mosquito bite.  They likened the chances of this type of reaction to being struck by lightning.  They rarely get an opportunity to treat a child. They nearly always come in brain dead.  The good news is that Cameron got to them in time to give him an opportunity to fight this fight. 

The doctors are unsure if Cameron recovers what his brain activity will be like.  They currently give him less than a 10% chance of survival and a far less chance of recovering fully.  I am fervently believing that our Lord Jesus Christ will heal Cameron fully.  We have seen miracles every day in Cameron’s prognosis and we are not giving up hope that he will make a full recovery.  My entire family thanks you so much for your prayers and kind thoughts.  We feel like this is in God’s and Cameron’s hands now.  When you have a spare moment during your day, we would appreciate you lifting Cameron along with Jenn, JP, and us up in your prayers. 

Jenn and JP, as you can imagine, are living minute by minute with almost no sleep and are extremely emotionally drained.  We would like to convey our heartfelt appreciation for your prayers. Please feel free to leave comments and/or prayers on the blog.