| Welcome to Sarah's memory pages. Scroll down to read her story. To see some pictures and read For help caring for special needs children |
 Sarah Rebecca Peck July 12, 2002--February 4, 2005 |
 
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| Welcome to Sarah's memory pages. Scroll down to read her story. To see some pictures and read For help caring for special needs children |
Sarah Rebecca Peck July 12, 2002--February 4, 2005 |
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7:30 PM, February 4, 2005.�No mama. Rock.� Those were Sarah�s last words as her mother lay her on the bed so the nurses and physicians could help her breath. It was only a matter of minutes before the two-and-a-half year old child would give up the long fight and drift into the arms of the Lord. She died of congestive heart failure. It was the end of a three-month life-changing ordeal no child, no parents, no family should have to endure.
November 18, 2004. Sarah was taken to her pediatrician�s office because of general swelling. During the visit her lips began to turn blue. The family had seen this happen before at home and had mentioned it to her physician, but when the doctor observed it for himself, he immediately admitted Sarah to the hospital. Her oxygen level at 85%, they put her on oxygen and ran tests to find the cause of her swelling.
November 22, 2004. Having discovered fluid around her heart and lungs the physician performed an open lung biopsy and installed a chest tube to drain the fluid. In order to drain all of the fluid, the chest tube remained for 9 days, causing Sarah some pain.
December 13.2004. The lung biopsy was not conclusive, so we headed to Duke University for a heart catheterization. The diagnosis: restrictive cardiomyopothy, a rare condition in which the heart could not relax enough to allow for blood flow back out, causing fluids to back up into the lungs. The physicians at Duke also did a muscle biopsy, searching for the cause of the muscle problem from which she�d suffered since birth.
We took some comfort when a Duke physician told us she only had to have oxygen �as needed,� rather than all the time. We all went home for Christmas, encouraged by Sarah�s comfort and relative good health. She seemed to be doing fine.
January 14, 2005. We admitted Sarah to the hospital with the symptoms of pneumonia. Her doctor prescribed oxygen for her, and in a few days she was able to come back home.
January 26, 2005. We admitted her again, this time with a respiratory virus.
January 31, 2005. We had a very difficult conversation with Sarah�s pediatrician. We talked about hard choices we faced and decisions no parent wants make. It was a great spiritual help to us knowing that the doctor was a Christian, who understood that God was in control, and that we and Sarah were a part of a greater plan. Still, there is no easy way to think about, talk about or decide about issues like life support (perhaps long term) or a possible heart transplant.
We prayed together, and Sarah�s doctor suggested some scripture to help and comfort us.
February 4, 2005. Sarah began to swell again. We took her to the pulmonologist, who prescribed steroid treatments for her lungs. Her oxygen level was down and she was using her oxygen tank again. The treatment required intervenes medication, so we took Sarah to the hospital.
Since this sort of swelling makes it difficult to find a vein for an IV, and because the physicians anticipated similar steroid treatments as frequently as twice a month, the doctors decided to perform a surgical procedure to install a Port-a-cath.
The surgery went well. When Sarah returned to her room she was ready for mama to rock her. Around 4:30, she awoke ready to eat, play, and watch TV�movies and the playroom had become sources of comfort for Sarah on her visits to the hospital. Her oxygen level had dropped during the afternoon, but since she had just come out of surgery the health care team was not concerned. They implemented the Steroid treatment and she began to improve. For a short time, Sarah�s oxygen level reached 100%. Around 6:00 it started to drop.
The hospital staff tried several things, but they were unable to restore her oxygen level. About 7:30 Sarah�s mother was rocking her. The caretakers asked the she lay Sarah on the bed to provide better access.
Soon they removed the oxygen and started breathing for her. They attempted in vain to install a breathing tube�Sarah�s airway was too swollen. Her mother stayed with Sarah, holding her hand and rubbing her leg until God called her home.
The medical staff began emergency procedures to resuscitate her, but the loved ones surrounding her knew that Sarah was gone. Her heart was coaxed into beating again for a few minutes, but she had been too long without oxygen.
It was some time before the physicians declared what the Lord and we knew. They finally gave up at 8:30�the end of a long, long day. At the end, Sarah�s dad, her mother, her brother Jonathan, her sister Kristen, and her grandparents were with her. They held her. They had their chance to say goodbye.
According to the autopsy, Sarah died of congestive heart failure. Her heart wore out and stopped. The root cause is still a mystery. One physician said it might be something about the structure of her muscles, a rare condition. Another physician said it could have been a Mitochondrial Disorder, but nothing is conclusive. The genetic specialist at Duke sent some tissue samples to Georgetown University for a research project and to find out if it was genetic, but could not tell.
We don�t know. We don�t understand. But we know that God is in control. Without Him and His grace through this time we could not have survived. He knew that Sarah would only be with us a short time, but He chose our family. We thank Him for the tasks he has given us and we are excited to see what He has for us next.
