Experimental treatment breathes new life into baby Gretchen
To look at her now, you'd never know that in her first days
of life baby Gretchen had a breathing problem so serious she nearly died. But
her parents, Melissa and Larry Finseth, remember it well. "As soon as she was
born, I knew something was terribly wrong," says Melissa. "I kept asking, 'Is
she okay? Is she okay?' but she was whisked away quickly."
When conventional treatments failed at the hospital where
she was born, Gretchen was transported by ambulance to the Intensive Care
Nursery at MeritCare Children's Hospital. "That's not unusual," says
neonatologist Craig Shoemaker, M.D. "We're glad to work with other
hospitals and serve as a resource. They know we have a high-level intensive
care nursery with the necessary range of doctors, equipment and treatments to
deal with difficult problems."
When Gretchen arrived, the Intensive Care Nursery team was
ready, including a pediatric cardiologist and two neonatologists. She was put
on an oscillator (a special kind of ventilator suited for babies' tiny lungs)
and was given medication to "paralyze" her so the machine could do its job of
keeping her lungs open. But the oscillator wasn't enough, and the problem
continued. The airways from Gretchen's heart to her lungs were constricted,
preventing the flow of oxygen. That flow is vital to life.
A new treatment option
"Dr. [Rodrigo] Rios (MeritCare Children's Hospital pediatric cardiologist) approached us and told us about an experimental treatment involving nitric oxide that could possibly help Gretchen," says Melissa. "That word 'experimental' scared us, but at the same time, we knew there was nothing else left. If we didn't try it, she would die for sure."
The Finseths learned more about the nitric-oxide treatment.
They discovered it worked well in decreasing lung pressure in babies who had
undergone open-heart surgery, and its use to treat Gretchen's problem was a
related application. They learned, too, that the treatment was available as
part of a National Institutes of Health study involving top intensive care
nurseries in the country, including MeritCare Children's Hospital. The
treatment is not available anywhere else in North Dakota.
"That word 'experimental' is always scary to people, and that's
why we're careful to explain it," says Dr. Shoemaker. "To many, it means you
have no idea how something is going to turn out, but that's not correct. When a
treatment is part of a study such as this one, we have a fairly comfortable
idea this is good for a patient, but before it can become an FDA (Food and Drug
Administration)- approved treatment, more must be learned about the best
practice of the treatment — exactly how much gas to deliver, exactly when and
for how long, which hospitals should be allowed to use it, and so forth." Data
from MeritCare and other study participants contribute to the writing of these
best-practice guidelines.
Will it work?
"All of us were crossing our fingers, hoping and praying she
would do well on this treatment," says Melissa. "It was just amazing to see the
results." Within a short time on the nitric-oxide treatment, Gretchen's
situation improved dramatically. Over the next two weeks, the treatment tapered
off and Gretchen was breathing on her own.
Today, Gretchen is nine months old and doing well. She and
her family live in Thief River Falls, Minn., where they moved a few months
after she was born. "To know that such a high level of care for children is
available in our region is wonderful," says Melissa. "Every day — even when
Gretchen is screaming at the top of her lungs — we just thank God she's with
us."
Not possible without the Children's Miracle Network
The high level care provided to Gretchen and the hundreds of
babies hospitalized every year at the Intensive Care Nursery at MeritCare
Children's Hospital would not be possible without financial support from the
annual Children's Miracle Network.
When people in the region contribute to the Children's
Miracle Network, their gifts help the Intensive Care Nursery purchase expensive
high-tech equipment such as the oscillator. It kept Gretchen alive and enabled
her to receive the nitric-oxide treatment that gave her a second chance.
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