Brie Morgan Bauer & Baby Beau

Brie Morgan Bauer & Beau Thomas Bauer

On February 17, 2024, Brie, 35, and Reid, 35, welcomed their third baby boy, Beau, via emergency c-section. Brie was 27 weeks pregnant at the time.

After several days of feeling flu-like—body aches and general discomfort—Brie went to get checked at urgent care. The doctor determined that she was in labor and the baby was in distress with every contraction. They sent Brie for an emergency c-section.

Beau was born at 3:51 p.m. and weighed 2 lbs 8 oz. While they stabilized the baby and transported him to the NICU, Brie’s state continued to decline. She lost a lot of blood in the operating room.

Following delivery, the medical team struggled to get oxygen to her fluid-filled lungs and to stop her bleeding. Brie began to suffer from organ failure. As a result, the doctors placed her in a medically induced coma while they searched for the root cause of her condition. They advised the family that she was unlikely to make it through the night.

Fortunately, Brie held on and less than 24 hours later, lab results revealed that Brie had Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS) brought on by Strep Group A bacteria, along with a condition called “disseminated intravascular coagulation” (DIC). (The latter condition causes abnormal blood clotting throughout the body, along with uncontrolled bleeding and organ damage.) Brie’s Strep A infection was concentrated in her uterus and would require an emergency hysterectomy—a procedure that the surgeons didn’t believe she was stable enough to survive.

Despite the odds, Brie persevered, but the surgery also revealed that parts of her colon had died and she would require another surgery to place an ostomy. It would be her third major surgery in less than 72 hours. Though she made it through, the family learned that the blood pressure medications keeping her alive were beginning to impact all four limbs. Her hands and feet were turning black from lack of blood flow—amputation discussions were inevitable.

At this point, Brie was still in a coma and the family couldn’t be sure that she hadn’t suffered a brain injury. In order to better assess the state of things, the family requested that her paralytic medication be lowered. An hour after the medications were reduced, Brie’s eyelids began to flicker. Reid went to her side, “Brie, it’s Reid. The baby is safe, he’s beautiful and looks like you.” She opened her eyes. It was clear Brie was still ready to fight.

Soon after, the difficult decision was made to transfer Brie to another hospital—a hospital Brie worked at early in her nursing career—that would be equipped to address her long-term, complex needs. Beau would need to stay behind, initially. At that time, Brie was still heavily sedated, on a ventilator and unable to speak. Once she was settled at the new hospital, the medical team was able to remove her ventilator, the same day Beau would arrive at the new hospital, though it wouldn’t be until Day 12 that Brie and Beau would finally get their reunion.

In the following weeks and months, Brie would go on to have countless surgeries to repair her abdomen and remove dead (necrotic) tissue that was caused by the sepsis. She battled infections, setbacks and endured amputations to all four limbs: Her right arm, just above the elbow. Her left arm, just below the elbow. Her right leg, which is at hip-level. And her left leg, just above the knee.

While Brie continued to fight her own battles, Beau grew stronger each week, meeting his milestones along the way. Meanwhile, Reid cycled between sleeping in a chair next to Brie for months to holding Beau multiple times a day in the NICU and running home to have dinner and bedtime with their older boys. His support for his family never wavered.

In mid-May, Beau was released from the hospital with no medical complications, just shy of what would be 40 weeks gestation. As of May 20th, Brie remains in the hospital with plans to transfer to rehab soon and hopefully return home as a family of five by mid-summer.

Thank you to so many people around the world for the continued support and generosity. The donations will be used to help offset medical costs, prosthetics, home renovation and other needs. For current updates, please follow @beauandbrie on Instagram.

——

Description last updated on May 20, 2024.