Today's started just like any other Sunday. We got up around 7 AM and headed off to church. After the services, we headed back home and decided to enjoy a day of football. In mid afternoon, Jacob began complaining of some sort of restriction in his throat, but it was way down deep. Closer to his chest cavity. He thought it was a buildup of phlegm. I attempted to suction him, but could not get it out. We called a friend of ours, Nikki Michaels, an RN, and asked for her help. Immediately, she came to our home, but Nikki was also unable to remove the obstruction. Jacob was clearly choking! We made the decision to take him to the emergency room at CAMC in Teays Valley. I could not get him stabilized, and the tests and x-rays showed pneumonia in both lungs. He was finally admitted to the ICU.
Jacob's oxygen and pulse levels would not normalize. His pulse dropped several times, as did his oxygen, into dangerous levels. They put him in a full facemask to help, but his breathing remained extremely labored.
Around 1:30 in the morning, Jacob was in real trouble! All vitals dropped, and the nurses could not hear any activity in his left lung. They tried using an Ambu bag for breathing, but that was not working. Everything bottomed out, and he lost consciousness.
The attending nurse had started feeding Jacob with a Joey pump. Due to either a faulty device, or wrong settings, Jacob was OVERFED and aspirated, collapsing, his left lung and subsequently stopping his heart... he was gone.
I ran out of the ICU to the waiting area to tell my wife what was happening, when we heard "CODE BLUE, CODE BLUE, CODE BLUE! ICU ROOM 6 CODE BLUE!" People swarmed from all over the hospital into the ICU. As the doors flew open, I heard someone yell. "GRAB THE CRASH CART!" (A crash cart is essential for cardiopulmonary resuscitation as it contains advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), first-line drugs, a defibrillator, a bag valve mask, and a suction device.)
The staff used epinephrine, shock paddles, and chest compressions, in an attempt to save Jacob's life. Our friend and youth pastor's wife (Emily), is an RN at the hospital and was there with us. Jacob was gone for 20 minutes! No heartbeat, no pulse, no life. Mom and I were on our knees, praying and crying harder than we've ever cried! Begging God, Jesus, all that is Holy, to save our son, and not take him from us.
Finally, after the 20 minutes of being gone, they were able to get a pulse, then quickly a full heartbeat, and Jacob almost instantly recovered! All vitals returned to normal! The collapsed left lung was filled with pneumonia, carbon dioxide, and fluids! The attending physician made the decision to transfer Jacob to the surgical trauma intensive care unit at CAMC, General Division in Charleston.
Jacob was transported via ambulance transport, due to his delicate and guarded condition.
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