My close and dear friend Chelsea Pelley and her boyfriend Matthew Webb were blessed with baby Kenadie on October 2nd of 2015, Chelsea is also the mother of Dante, age 10, and Ryan, age 6. Things quickly turned into a nightmare for poor sweet Kenadie. She is currently at the IWK in Halifax with both parents at her side, & struggling to watch their new born go through such difficulties all the while worrying about finances for home with the two older boys, keeping a roof over their families head, groceries, Christmas being up coming ect.. below I'm going to post some of baby Kenadie's story in her mother's words:Just wanted to take the time to update everyone on what has been going on with Kenadie. This may be a long one and not so easy to read; as I know it will not be easy to type, so buckle up, grab a kleenex if you're sensitive, and take a seat. Our last few days have been filled with ups and downs, and many, many scares and tears. Wednesday, all day, Kenadie was not her usual happy self. As she had always been hard to burp, I figured she was having gas pains, and went on the hunt for Ovol Drops as the Gripe Water was not helping her relieve the gas. After some searching, we found Ovol Drops, and gave them to her; she farted, she burped, and settled in for a sleep.... I believed all was well. Later Wednesday evening, Kenadie awoke and started fussing around 10pm; when I picked her up, she felt warm to the touch. Thinking something didn't seem right about this, I grabbed her thermometer and took her temperature. When the thermometer had read, she had a "low grade fever" of 37.9. - 37.6 is considered a fever when taken under the armpit, and fever is considered very serious and severe in such young infants. We did what any parents would have done, and brought her in to St. Martha's Regional Hospital immediately. When we got to the hospital, we were taken into triage immediately where Kenadie's vitals were good, but she still had a low grade fever, though it had dropped down to 37.6. Kenadie was whisked away out back to emergency right away, where we met with a pediatrician. They immediately went right to bloodwork, (5 vials were drawn from her tiny little arm, as well as taking a small amount from one of her heels) which they put a rush on getting the results back. When the results came back, Kenadie's blood was showing infection, although at this point in time, we nor the doctors knew what kind of infection we were facing. They wanted to do a spinal tap at that point in time to rule out meningitis, which at that point in time, she was showing no signs of, so I refused the procedure. Kenadie was given a broad spectrum antibiotic injection in her upper thigh, and sent home for the night with the antibiotics working in her favor to fight this unknown infection, as well as being given a dose of Tylenol to fight the fever. Kenadie slept well that night, waking to feed as usual. Thursday morning, I got in contact with our family doctor, who had recieved the results from the bloodwork. She advised me of the infection and the numbers and how high they were. Kenadies white blood cell count was down to 2.6.... Extremely low. The infection numbers were 356, which is extremely high. We were advised that our family doctor would call the pediatrician that was in the hospital at that time, and set up an appointment to see her as soon as possible and we would have to take her up at that time to be seen. We recieved a call back telling us to get Kenadie triaged and registered, and we would meet with the pediatrician at 12:30. Upon getting to the hospital, the pediatrician had explained just how very sick our little Kenadie was. She was showing no signs of illness on the outside, but her bloodwork had shown that on the inside, her tiny little body had been pulling out all the stops it possibly could to fight this infection, and in the end she was just not strong enough to do it on her own. We were advised that they would be drawing more blood, taking x-rays, and doing a spinal tap to check and make sure this unknown infection had not spread to her brain. The blood work was done, and the x-rays taken, an IV line put into her tiny little hand, and then on to the scariest part of all.... the spinal tap to pull fluid from around her brain to test for menengitis as well as any other infection. If I thought it was hard to watch her have blood drawn, holding her down while they did x-rays and watching them insert an IV line, I was very much mistaken. As we stood by and watched, they stripped her down to just a diaper and multiple people walked into the room wearing surgical scrubs. While we stood and anxiously awaited the next move, they explained the procedure to us.... A nurse would be holding Kenadie down, on her side, in the fetal position with one hand on her hips and one hand on the back of her head and neck curving her spine outwards, while the pediatrician inserted a very small needle into her spinal column with the hopes of drawing spinal fluid to be able to test. As the needle went in, we saw blood... which was considered normal as there are blood vessels close to the area they were aiming for. They could still get a good reading from the fluid even if there was blood. This procedure took all of 5 minutes; but it felt like 5 years as Kenadie screamed, not from pain as she was numbed with a numbing cream, but from being held down. My heart ripped at the seams to watch my little girl so uncomfortable, and being held down to do things that I believed were horrific and traumatizing. After the spinal was done, the fluid was sent to the IWK for testing as they are not equipped to process it it Antigonish. Kenadie, Matt and I were taken down to Women and Childrens Health and given a private room. Kenadie was hooked up to an IV feeding fluids into her, as well as two different kinds of very strong broad spectrum antibiotics, in the hopes that we could get a head start on this infection, whatever it may have been. Thursday night was pure hell... Every time she would get comfortable, they would be back to take vitals, to draw blood, or to install yet another dose of strong antibiotics to be pumped into her. There was no rest or sleep for anyone that night. Friday morning, we were met with what we thought was great news! Kenadie's white blood cell count had risen considerably, and was now sitting in the mid 30's, as well as the infection levels dropping from 356 and were now at 145! This was surely a good sign, right? The antibiotics were working, and she was taking to them amazingly, with no side effects! We never thought that this good news could be followed so closely by such terrifying news. The pediatrician that had seen Kenadie, and had performed her first spinal tap came in with papers in her hand, and my heart leapt at the thought that this could be good news from the IWK! Maybe even the results of her spinal! How very wrong I was. The pediatrician looked at us and said "I have news, and unfortunately, it's not good news." My heart sank. We were told that although Kenadie was responding very well to the antibiotics, although her white blood cell count was up and the infection count down, we were being transported to the IWK for further testing, including another spinal tap. Blood work had come back that Kenadie had contracted Group B Strep bacteria in her blood stream. I didn't understand this... I was tested for Group B Strep while I was pregnant and it was negative!! How could this happen? What did I do wrong? How did she end up with something that I had tested negative for? On top of that, the spinal tap was unsuccessful. The samples that had been taken had unfortunately just had too much blood in them to be able to be tested, and they had clotted. They were no longer of much good use, but they were still trying to test them as that's all they had. Kenadie was also diagnosed with an innocent heart murmur, which should correct itself by the time she is 10 years old. Upon my questioning with the Group B Strep, it was explained to me that Group B Strep bacteria is something that is present in every single persons natural occuring "body flora"; that this was a natural occurring bacteria on everyones body.... Somehow Kenadie's immunities were just not strong enough to keep it from breaking the barrier and attacking her blood. This could be in part because she was 15 days early and considered a "late prem". They were very concerned that this infection could have possibly spread to her brain. We were reassured that we did the right thing, that we were very in tune with Kenadie and what was and wasn't right with her. If we hadn't have caught that very first fever when we did, within 24-72 hours, we could have lost our darling little girl forever. This bacteria was strong enough to take her life away, and she was not strong enough to stop it. A million thoughts crossed my mind.... My pregnancy was too complicated for her to be born so perfect. It was just too good to be true. While the pediatrician made plans to have Kenadie transported to the IWK, we sat in the room and wondered how this could have happened. I sat and felt the tears roll down my cheeks, but at that point I was numb. I felt like I had lost touch with everything that had kept me grounded and was spiraling out of control. The team made it to the hospital to transport Kenadie to the IWK, and my heart broke as I buckled her into her carseat, preparing to watch them drive away with her to the IWK. Turns out, all that panic and anxiety was for nothing at that time.... the team they has sent down to pick her up was not IV certified, and could not administer her antibiotics that she so desperately needed on this drive to Halifax. We had to wait 2 hours for the next team to make their way down to pick her up, this time, IV certified and prepared to take her with them. Those two hours felt like an eternity. We discussed who would travel with Kenadie, and who would follow behind in the vehicle with my mom. We decided that Matt would travel with K, and I would follow behind with my mom. I knew, after watching her first spinal tap, I knew I personally could not go through it alone as I would be a blubbering mess, and no good to Kenadie when she would need me the most. Matt handles things like that better, so we decided he would be better suited to handle this on his own if I was not there in time. When the second team arrived, they wasted no time strapping her carseat into the stretcher, and taking half of my heart with them as I watched them walk down the hallway towards the emergency entrance to load them up into the ambulance. I kissed her little head and watched them close the doors through teary eyes. That was the longest and hardest drive to Halifax as I didn't know what I would be facing when I arrived. Upon arriving to the IWK, we were taken into the emergency department where we met with the people who would be performing Kenadie's spinal tap. They assured us it would be quick and painless, very much like the first. They also advised us they did not want us in the room when it was being done. With heavy hearts, we walked out and left our baby in the hands of strangers... we were supposed to be able to trust them. This spinal took much, much longer than the first one had, and Kenadie cried like she has never cried before... when they had finished and we were allowed back in the room with her, I realized why. When we left Antigonish, Kenadie had one very small pinhole where the first spinal was performed... now, in it's place, sat 8 tiny little pinholes. They had forced a needle into my baby's spine SEVEN times... each one being unsuccessful. They ran into the same problems, and drew too much blood and it clotted. WHY on earth they would try that many times unsuccessfully is far, far beyond me. I was ANGRY. Last night, I saw my little girl in a whole new light... She had lost her happy ways, and lost all trust for any human touch, including my own. Kenadie would flinch and scream at the slightest touch. I couldn't pick her up, touch her or move her without her trembling in my arms and screaming. I mean, who could blame her after the horrors she had been subjected to over the last few days, especially the most recent spinal? I felt at a complete loss... I felt like a failure because I could not protect her from this. This was what was best for her, right? We needed to know if this infection had spread to her brain. We sat in emergency into the small hours of the morning, and did not make it to our room with Kenadie until between 5-530AM. By this time, Kenadie had settled some, but was still restless and untrusting. For the rest of the morning, Kenadie was woken for vitals to be taken and antibiotics administered. We were all exhausted, running on no sleep, ad full of fear. By the time we had all woken for the day, Kenadie was mostly back to herself and we were facing a new day of procedures... or so we thought. Today has been a long, but overall easy day. The pediatrician here decided not to do the final spinal tap today. Instead, we are being given today and tomorrow for Kenadie to rest. Monday will be the day... On Monday, Kenadie will undergo two procedures to get her on the road to recovery. She will be sedated, not completely put under, but put into a groggy and sleepy state so she is very relaxed. Once she is sedated, they will be inserting a pick line, which is a long term IV catheter that will be inserted into her arm, travel up through her vein and into one of the major arteries, close to her heart, but not right inside it. This is so that the antibiotics will be able to be pumped through her a little faster and more efficiently. Next, we have the FINAL spinal tap (after 8 unsuccessful attempts). This will be done while she is sedated and still sleepy, and will be performed by one of the best in the hospital... the one who performs them on preemies in the NICU. Kenadie is still responding well to the antibiotics, and is back to her usual happy self. They've mostly let her be today, except to check her vitals or switch between the two antibiotics they have been giving her. Her vitals have remained perfect throughout this whole thing. With this last spinal tap, we're hoping they can get what they need with the sirst needle stick, and if not, we'll be cutting our losses and spending a little longer than first expected in the IWK to make sure she has time to be treated for the possible infection in her brain... whether or not it's there, we'll make sure she's covered and well looked after for it. If the spinal tap is successful, and it comes back negative, we're looking at 14 days of IV antibiotics before release; if it is positive, we're looking at at least 21 days of IV antibiotics before release. If they spinal tap is not successful, we're looking at a full 21 days of IV antibiotics to make sure she is covered and treated for the brain infection whether or not it's there. Better safe than sorry, right? Right now, all we know is that the spinal and pick line is coming Monday and we are dreading it. We will be staying here for at least 14 days for her to be treated with antibiotics, possibly 21. It all depends on this spinal and how well it goes. The nurse was just in to check her vitals, she's sitting perfect and slept right through it all. Now, it's time for this mama to catch some sleep while my little beauty is sleeping. I'm exhausted. I'll ask that no one question me on what is going on, because you now have all that I have. When I know more, I will update when I have time. Kenadie needs me more, and I will be sure to be there for her every step of the way. We're on the road to healing, but not out of the woods yet. Little miss has quite the road of recovery ahead of her, but I'm sure we're in the right place to get her to the finish line and see her home happy and healthy again.- Since Chelsea has posted this update this poor little girl has now suffered through 11 spinal taps in total, all were unsuccessful & one unsuccessful attempt at inserting a pick line. In any way that anyone could help this family out while they are struggling it would be greatly appreciated.
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