Brooke Lynn Anderson 6 month old daughter of Jason and Cynthia nee Faulk died on Friday, August 20, 2010 in the Infant Special Care Unit at Evanston Hospital, Evanston, IL.
Brooke is surived by her parents; brother Owen Anderson; paternal grandparents Charles and Crystal Anderson and maternal grandfather Terry Faulk, she was preceded in death by her twin sister, Lexie Lee Anderson on February 2, 2010, and her maternal grandmother, Mary D. Faulk.
Visitation will take place August 23, 2010, Monday 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd. at Old Orchard Rd. Skokie, IL.
A graveside service will take place immediately following the visitation at Memorial Park Cemetery, 9900 Gross Point Road, Skokie, IL.
http://www.donnellanfuneral.com/
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
Brooke Lynn Anderson
This morning at about 11:00 our beautiful baby girl Brooke passed away. We are devastated and heartbroken, but comforted by the fact that she went peacefully in our arms. In Brooke's short 6.5 months with us, she has taught us so much about love, patience, strength, perseverance, & courage. She has now joined her sister Lexie in my mother's arms in heaven.
We will be having a visitation and service early next week. We will post the information here soon.
We would like to say thank you to all of the wonderful doctors, nurses, and everyone in the ISCU. Brooke, Jason, and I have considered you our family for the past 6.5 months and can't thank you enough for your compassion, love, and dedication to Brooke.
In lieu of flowers, please send a small donation to the ISCU (Infant Special Care Unit) general fund. The money will go towards helping all of the babies in need of special care and their families.
Send donations to:
Northshore University HealthSystem Foundation
1033 University Place
Suite 450
Evanston, IL 60201
224.364.7200
Please make sure to let them know that the donation is for the ISCU general fund in memory of Brooke Anderson.
Please also ask them to notify Jason & Cindy Anderson that a contribution was made.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Beautiful Brooke
Adorable. Stainless. Fragile. Unique. Stubborn. Fighter. Sensitive. Amazing. Feisty. Special. Charming. Finicky. Gorgeous Eyes. Long Lashes. Strong. Courageous. Lovely...
The doctors have said that most babies would have stopped fighting by now. But not Brooke.
Yesterday was a bad day, the worst yet. At about 10:30 am Brooke's blood pressure started dropping and was really hard for the doctor's to control. Then her oxygen saturation levels dropped. She struggled all day with both, not getting enough oxygen through her body. We started preparing for the worst. But Brooke kept on fighting and midway through the night her numbers started looking a little better.
Unfortunately, she is still struggling. The doctors have given her every bit of support possible. They fear that she might have another infection and are treating her with more antibiotics. They also fear that her pulmonary hypertension is just too much for her to handle and that she is getting tired. There is nothing we can do to stop that.
We are trying to prepare ourselves for the worst while hoping & praying for her to make it through this. We have asked the doctors & nurses to do their best to make sure that she is not in any pain and they have been wonderful. Brooke has truly made an impact on everyone here and is loved by many.
We are staying at the hospital with Brooke. We tell Brooke everyday how proud we are of her and how many people are sending their love her way. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers.
The doctors have said that most babies would have stopped fighting by now. But not Brooke.
Yesterday was a bad day, the worst yet. At about 10:30 am Brooke's blood pressure started dropping and was really hard for the doctor's to control. Then her oxygen saturation levels dropped. She struggled all day with both, not getting enough oxygen through her body. We started preparing for the worst. But Brooke kept on fighting and midway through the night her numbers started looking a little better.
Unfortunately, she is still struggling. The doctors have given her every bit of support possible. They fear that she might have another infection and are treating her with more antibiotics. They also fear that her pulmonary hypertension is just too much for her to handle and that she is getting tired. There is nothing we can do to stop that.
We are trying to prepare ourselves for the worst while hoping & praying for her to make it through this. We have asked the doctors & nurses to do their best to make sure that she is not in any pain and they have been wonderful. Brooke has truly made an impact on everyone here and is loved by many.
We are staying at the hospital with Brooke. We tell Brooke everyday how proud we are of her and how many people are sending their love her way. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Still Fighting
It's been another rough week for Brooke. On Tuesday, Brooke started to decline again. Tuesday night at 1:00 am we got a phone call telling us that she was being put back on the oscillator. Not only was Brooke having an extremely difficult time breathing, but her blood pressure was extremely labile (fluctuating between high and low values). She continued to be extremely fragile and sensitive throughout all of Wednesday. The doctors were so worried that they didn't leave her bedside throughout the night and morning. Jason and I stayed both Tuesday and Wednesday night in the hospital.
Brooke is still in critical condition, but is a bit more stable now. She has been paralyzed so that she can't fight against the machine. She is getting a lot of sedatives to help make sure that she is not in pain (and as we know, she likes her drugs!). It is clear that the doctors are still extremely worried about her, but are also thrilled that she is showing small signs of improvement.
The doctor's believe that Brooke has pulmonary hypertension. They believe that this is causing her latest issues. The trouble now is that both her heart and her lungs are having significant problems.
The doctors believe that Brooke needs to be moved to Children's Memorial Hospital in order to have a cardiologist watching her 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, Brooke is not stable enough to travel to Children's. Right now, she is struggling with diaper changes and having her head turned. She needs to be off of the oscillator and back on the traditional ventilator in order to make the trip. Therefore the short term goal is to get her stable enough to go on her first field trip. The doctors are hoping that this Sunday she will be ready to move to the ventilator... so here's to Sunday.
Brooke is still in critical condition, but is a bit more stable now. She has been paralyzed so that she can't fight against the machine. She is getting a lot of sedatives to help make sure that she is not in pain (and as we know, she likes her drugs!). It is clear that the doctors are still extremely worried about her, but are also thrilled that she is showing small signs of improvement.
The doctor's believe that Brooke has pulmonary hypertension. They believe that this is causing her latest issues. The trouble now is that both her heart and her lungs are having significant problems.
The doctors believe that Brooke needs to be moved to Children's Memorial Hospital in order to have a cardiologist watching her 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, Brooke is not stable enough to travel to Children's. Right now, she is struggling with diaper changes and having her head turned. She needs to be off of the oscillator and back on the traditional ventilator in order to make the trip. Therefore the short term goal is to get her stable enough to go on her first field trip. The doctors are hoping that this Sunday she will be ready to move to the ventilator... so here's to Sunday.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Just Keep Swimming
Yesterday, Owen, Jason, & I watched Finding Nemo in order to get some inspiration from Dori. Brooke is once again fighting for her life and it is day to day right now. But she continues to fight and so we are trying to stay strong.
The good news this week was that the staph infection was not found in her spinal fluid. She is on antibiotics and so far it looks like they have the infection under control.
The bad news is that after both of the infections, Brooke's lungs are in bad shape. The x-rays show that they have gotten significantly worse. She is at extremely high settings on the ventilator again and struggling to breathe.
In addition to issues with her lungs, her heart is having issues too. Her blood pressure has been too low all week and so they have her on medicine to keep it up now. This is especially strange for Brooke since she is usually on meds to keep it down. Her ventricles have also gotten larger as her heart is continuing to work extremely hard to pump blood to her damaged lungs. The doctors seem increasingly worried about her heart function. But, Brooke is still fighting.
"When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do? Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim." ~Dori, Finding Nemo
The good news this week was that the staph infection was not found in her spinal fluid. She is on antibiotics and so far it looks like they have the infection under control.
The bad news is that after both of the infections, Brooke's lungs are in bad shape. The x-rays show that they have gotten significantly worse. She is at extremely high settings on the ventilator again and struggling to breathe.
In addition to issues with her lungs, her heart is having issues too. Her blood pressure has been too low all week and so they have her on medicine to keep it up now. This is especially strange for Brooke since she is usually on meds to keep it down. Her ventricles have also gotten larger as her heart is continuing to work extremely hard to pump blood to her damaged lungs. The doctors seem increasingly worried about her heart function. But, Brooke is still fighting.
"When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do? Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim." ~Dori, Finding Nemo
Monday, August 2, 2010
SIX months old!!
Happy Birthday Brooke!! Brooke is now officially SIX months old!! She got a couple of presents for her birthday. I finished knitting her a little blankie - it took me seven months and isn't big enough to cover her, but hopefully she will still love it. A huge thank you to Paula Suominen for teaching me how to knit while on bed rest and to Madeline, Diane, & Lynn, the nurses in the ISCU who helped me throughout the process. Another huge thank you to Megan & Mercedes who made her the beautiful birthday poster that now hangs above her bed. Brooke is the oldest girl in the ISCU and her bed is the most decorated!!
The other birthday present wasn't so nice. Brooke came down with a 104.8 fever on Sunday. Her blood pressure kept getting lower and she just seemed really uncomfortable. They figured out that she now has a staph infection. This is only the cause of her fever on Sunday. They do not believe this is what caused the previous week's issues. They caught the high fever quickly and immediately started her on antibiotics. We are hopeful that since it was caught so quickly it will not cause any major problems for her.
Although this wasn't the ideal birthday, we are thrilled that she is now six months old. My perspective has changed on this. A month ago, I was dreading her six month birthday thinking that she had been in the hospital for half a year and I couldn't believe it had been so long. Now I am so thankful that she is still here and still fighting. Happy Birthday Brooke!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tears...
Today I shed some tears... happy tears. Brooke came off of the oscillator and was put on the ventilator today. It seems funny to say that being put on the ventilator is a good thing, but after all she has been through this week it is great! After she was put on the ventilator, she took a while to adjust, but she is now a bit more herself. She looked at us for the first time in a week which was truly wonderful!
Overall, Brooke is doing better. Her ultrasound showed that her liver and gall bladder are sick, but they seem to be improving slowly. Her kidneys are working well and her seizures are controlled by the medication. Brooke's heart is still working hard and they are still having to help her manage her blood pressure with medication, but it is working. The news today is that Brooke is addicted to narcotics - she has needed so much fentanyl and versed over the past week for sedation that she is now an addict. They are bringing in a toxicologist to help her get through the withdrawal.
I also talked with the infectious disease doctor today and they still do not know what caused this. They believe that it is either medicine or a virus, but can not find any evidence of either so far. He did say that usually when they can not find a cause, the patient survives. And that's all that really matters.
We want to thank everyone for their love, support, and prayers throughout this last week. We also want to thank Grandpa for his love, humor, and compassion. He passed on peacefully today and we like to think that he put in a good word for Brooke. We will forever miss him.
Overall, Brooke is doing better. Her ultrasound showed that her liver and gall bladder are sick, but they seem to be improving slowly. Her kidneys are working well and her seizures are controlled by the medication. Brooke's heart is still working hard and they are still having to help her manage her blood pressure with medication, but it is working. The news today is that Brooke is addicted to narcotics - she has needed so much fentanyl and versed over the past week for sedation that she is now an addict. They are bringing in a toxicologist to help her get through the withdrawal.
I also talked with the infectious disease doctor today and they still do not know what caused this. They believe that it is either medicine or a virus, but can not find any evidence of either so far. He did say that usually when they can not find a cause, the patient survives. And that's all that really matters.
We want to thank everyone for their love, support, and prayers throughout this last week. We also want to thank Grandpa for his love, humor, and compassion. He passed on peacefully today and we like to think that he put in a good word for Brooke. We will forever miss him.
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