Family says son was in 'cardiac death' for 14 hours

DENVER — The family of 4-year-old Cartier Anderson celebrates the miracle of life every day.

Destiny Anderson remembers one day in early April when her son developed a fever. The fever did not subside, and Cartier had symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, pain, cold feet, and abnormal behavior.

“I called the nurse and told her the symptoms he was having, and she said, 'Oh, he's breathing too fast. He needs to go to the hospital,'” Destiny said. Told.

On April 10, Destiny said she admitted Cartier to the hospital.

“Honestly, I thought Cartier had a cold,” she said.

Destiny said Cartier had previously suffered from other illnesses, including bronchiolitis, and she thought doctors would treat him and let him go home soon.

More than a month later, Cartier is still sleeping in a hospital bed.

“I repeat that every time I see him,” Destiny said. “And I think, 'If he had seen this and realized this, would he still be in this state?'

She said doctors diagnosed Cartier with strep throat, which eventually led to sepsis.

“This is a fairly serious condition that usually requires admission to intensive care,” said 9Health expert Dr. Payal Kohli. “This basically means that an infection, usually a bacterial infection, has entered the bloodstream and is wreaking havoc on blood pressure and organs. And it can become very serious. .”

Destiny said Cartier was connected to a number of machines, including an intravenous drip and a breathing tube.

“Before I knew it, they laid him down and started doing CPR, and I lost it,” Destiny said. “I was like, 'What's going on? What did everyone do to him?'

Cartier went into cardiac arrest. Destiny said that within 24 hours of his arrival at the hospital, doctors gathered his family together to share the devastating news.

“They tell you in many ways that your son is gone, but they don't tell you that your son is gone,” Destiny said.

Destiny said Cartier's father, Dominique, did not want to believe that his son was gone. He chose not to separate Cartier from any machinery, but to “leave it to God.”

Destiny said she stayed by Dominick's side believing there was still hope for her son.

“When I put my head down and cried, I said to myself, 'He's gone,'” Destiny said. “Of course I cried, but it felt like the tears my mother wanted me to shed, but I just couldn't. Something in the back of my mind was telling me, “This is over.'' No, I said it was God.”

Cartier's aunt Angela Maduro and grandmother Katherine Reed remained with Cartier after the news broke.

“We've done everything medically possible at this point,” Angela echoed what doctors told her family. “In other words, at this point in time, Cartier is in a state where its heart is dead.''

Angela said her family surrounded Cartier's hospital room in prayer shortly after the doctors left. She said her sister anointed every surface with blessing oil and her mother, Catherine, prayed loudly and fervently.

“I was rubbing his hands, rubbing in the prayer oil that my sister had put on him, and I looked up and there was a green line that said 'Zeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee possible,” Angela said. Told. “I said, 'Mom, did you see that?' She didn't hear me. I clapped her hands and prayed.”

Catherine said she felt a presence in the room while she was praying. She said she felt like there was someone at the end of her bed, unable to see or hear anyone else in the room.

“I think God had all the right people there,” Angela said.

“The doctor came back and brought in the other doctors and said, 'I have good news,' and I said, 'Okay,'” Katherine said.

According to Cartier's family, doctors told him he had a blood clot in his heart and placed him on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO) machine. At one point, Angela said, the machine was the only thing pumping blood into her nephew's body.

“When someone has sepsis, the sepsis contaminates the blood. When the blood becomes contaminated, organs, including the heart, can fail,” Kohli said. “In this case, it appears that the actual heart has stopped. So to keep blood flowing to everything when the heart isn't working, they put this young child on ECMO, which is essentially It was an artificial heart pump that supplied oxygen and blood.'' All his organs were alive, and he was somehow alive. ”

Angela said it took more than 14 hours for Cartier's own heart to start beating.

“I think everyone who was there knew there was something special,” Angela said. “I mean, it was inexplicable. If you felt the energy in the room, it was crazy.”

“I'm still shocked to see him today,” Destiny said.

Destiny said of her seven children that Cartier was a “peacemaker.”

“He always wants you to be okay,” Destiny said. “It's like, if you're okay, then Cartier is okay too.”

Destiny said Cartier has improved greatly in the last month. He can see, answers questions, and is almost cured of his strep infection.

“His eyes say it all,” Destiny said. “It's amazing that he opened his eyes, because he didn't.”

Still, Cartier's family said he has a long way to go before he fully recovers. His aunt founded the gofundme This is to support future medical expenses and support his family as Dominic loses his job and has to spend a lot of time in the hospital.

Above all, the family asks for continued blessings and prayers, as this is part of the reason they believe Cartier is still with them today.

“No one understands why, but we do,” Destiny said. “It was God. That's all. No ifs or buts. It was God.”

Kohli emphasized the importance of treating infections early and quickly. That could help prevent further worsening of symptoms, she said.

“If you have a sore throat or a high fever with a possible bacterial infection, it's never a bad idea to call your child's doctor to see if antibiotics are needed. With aggressive treatment, many of these complications can be prevented, especially in young children who don't always express symptoms,” Kohli said.