Carver McGee Care Fund
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My nephew, Carver Elwood McGee, is hospitalized for a yet undiagnosed medical condition that caused a stroke which he is now recovering from. We are trying to get help to Allie and Greg, who are living at the hospital with him and face currently unknown expenses for long term care for Carver. We also have a meal train on Lotsa Helping Hands which you can find here: my.lotsahelpinghands.com/community/carver-elwood-mcgee
We will update the Go Fund Me goal up or down as we get a better idea of what Carver's long term care needs will look like and the expected costs outside of what insurance will cover.
Please see below for a history of Carver's last three weeks from Allie:
On March 17th, when Carver was 7.5 weeks old, we took him to the pediatrician after 5 days of him having a stuffy nose that continued to get worse. He was having trouble nursing, seemingly because he couldn't breathe through his nose. His nose was congested but there was nothing in it to suck out. We noticed he looked pale and had lost weight.
Our pediatrician said he was dehydrated and advised us to take him to the emergency room. We left immediately and took him to the Doernbecher Emergency Room at OHSU. Carver was treated in the ER for severe dehydration with IV fluids.
He was tested for viruses and infections. ENT put a scope down his nose to check for structural issues impeding his airway because they were unable to suck anything out either. There was no structural issue.
Carver was admitted and given intermittent fluids overnight while his vitals were monitored. After all the tests came back negative he was diagnosed with rhinitis and prescribed a nasal decongestant and saline spray.
The medications began to clear up his congestion so we were discharged the next day. Thursday March 18th. We were instructed to continue the two nasal sprays until Saturday. If his congestions did not clear up they would prescribe a steroid nasal spray.
By Friday, Carver appeared to be better and we were relieved. His congestion was almost completely cleared up and he was acting better and eating normally again. By Saturday his congestion was completely cleared and we had not noticed a decline in appetite or ability to eat.
Saturday night he began to act fussier than normal. By Sunday we noticed he was not eating as much as he normally did. He wanted to nurse but did not have the energy to and I felt like he was not getting enough milk. His behavior made me think that nursing took too much energy so he would just give up. We also noticed he was having diarrhea, looked pale again and seemed thinner.
I called OHSU to ask if we should bring him back in. The doctor told us that based on his symptoms we did not need to bring him in unless he got worse and advised that we take him to our pediatrician the next day.
I called our pediatrician as soon as they opened on Monday morning. The nurse told me that the doctor said we should go back to the ER.
We returned to the ER where Carver was found to be severely dehydrated again and was lethargic, but without any congestion. He was immediately started on IV fluids and they started running tests to try and figure out what was wrong.
Again, all of the initial tests came back negative. We were admitted again and taken upstairs to a room where he continued to receive IV hydration. More and more doctors rotated through performing various tests.
This continued through Wednesday with no indication of what was wrong. Carver started eating a bit more but the doctors determined that he was not getting enough nutrition from nursing so we were instructed to begin bottle feeding and tracking his intake.
By Wednesday night Carver stopped taking the bottle again. Like before, he wanted to eat but would not suck on the bottle once it was in his mouth. To try and avoid a feeding tube, Greg started feeding him with a syringe. I continued to feed him with a syringe through Thursday morning until he started spitting up each little bit he swallowed. In between trying to get him to take the milk, he started repeatedly alternating between being alert and very fussy to seemingly and periods of seeming asleep. These transitions happened rapidly like a light switch had been switched off.
Our nurse examined Carver during these episodes, left the room, and then came back a few minutes later with 6 other people including the doctor from the PICU. After observing the fussy to sleeping behavior the doctor told me that Carver had to be transferred to the PICU immediately.
I woke Greg up in tears. I was confused and had no idea what was going on, what had happened and why the doctors and nurses were acting like this was suddenly an emergency.
After being evaluated in the PICU by the neurology team, Carver was taken for an MRI and Greg and I were warned that he could have a metabolic condition and that brain damage was likely. A few hours later a team of doctors came in to give us the MRI results. We were told that Carver had had a stroke that had cut off the blood supply to the basal ganglia deep in the center of his brain resulting in permanent damage to a significant portion of both hemispheres on his brain. We were told that the extent of the damage was unknown but he had to be treated immediately with blood thinner and medication to manage the seizures he was having and stop the clot from growing. We were warned that the next 72 hours were critical and that they would be monitoring him closely to watch for hemorrhaging in his brain. At the time, the doctors told us that, if Carver survived, he would have severe brain damage, affecting both his cognitive and motor functions. A few days later, after his second MRI, the doctors updated his prognosis, telling us that the damage may be limited to motor functions.
Carver was hooked up to an EEG to monitor his seizure activity, he got a chest x-ray, an ultrasound of his abdomen, more blood tests than I can count, stool tests, and was visited by an endless stream of doctors. He started physical therapy to keep his limbs and the rest of his body from getting stiff. He is also being taught to recognize his top, bottom, left, right and center. Without knowing exactly what the brain damage is, the goal is to help his brain make those connections. He also started receiving respiratory therapy to help him get rid of any mucus that can build up in his lungs while he is sedated and not crying.
After reaching a therapeutic dose of his blood thinners and anti seizure medication Carver stabilized. He began receiving IV nutrition while he was on gut rest.
Finally, on Thursday, April 1st, Carver opened his eye for the first time in 6 days. After that he slowly began to improve. Each day his eyes open more and become more alert and he is able to suck on his pacifier with more control. He developed a barking cough that needed to be treated with medication to open his airways and prevent inflammation.
Now, Carver is off the IV blood thinners and instead receiving a twice daily injection which we can continue when we take him home. One of his two anti seizure medications is being tapered down and the second one will be converted to an oral medication that we can continue to give him at home. On Monday he started getting formula through a feeding tube and, since he is tolerating it well, the volume will slowly increase to replace the IV nutrients. The goal is to start bottle feedings and then return to breast milk.
We still have no idea what caused all of this. He is a little mystery. The current thought is that he has an underlying condition that made him susceptible to clotting and when he got dehydrated he developed a clot that caused the stroke. If that is the case, we still do not know what caused him to get so sick in the first place leading to the stomach issues and dehydration. We have several tests still pending and are starting to test for very rare conditions after everything else has come back negative.
We will update the Go Fund Me goal up or down as we get a better idea of what Carver's long term care needs will look like and the expected costs outside of what insurance will cover.
Please see below for a history of Carver's last three weeks from Allie:
On March 17th, when Carver was 7.5 weeks old, we took him to the pediatrician after 5 days of him having a stuffy nose that continued to get worse. He was having trouble nursing, seemingly because he couldn't breathe through his nose. His nose was congested but there was nothing in it to suck out. We noticed he looked pale and had lost weight.
Our pediatrician said he was dehydrated and advised us to take him to the emergency room. We left immediately and took him to the Doernbecher Emergency Room at OHSU. Carver was treated in the ER for severe dehydration with IV fluids.
He was tested for viruses and infections. ENT put a scope down his nose to check for structural issues impeding his airway because they were unable to suck anything out either. There was no structural issue.
Carver was admitted and given intermittent fluids overnight while his vitals were monitored. After all the tests came back negative he was diagnosed with rhinitis and prescribed a nasal decongestant and saline spray.
The medications began to clear up his congestion so we were discharged the next day. Thursday March 18th. We were instructed to continue the two nasal sprays until Saturday. If his congestions did not clear up they would prescribe a steroid nasal spray.
By Friday, Carver appeared to be better and we were relieved. His congestion was almost completely cleared up and he was acting better and eating normally again. By Saturday his congestion was completely cleared and we had not noticed a decline in appetite or ability to eat.
Saturday night he began to act fussier than normal. By Sunday we noticed he was not eating as much as he normally did. He wanted to nurse but did not have the energy to and I felt like he was not getting enough milk. His behavior made me think that nursing took too much energy so he would just give up. We also noticed he was having diarrhea, looked pale again and seemed thinner.
I called OHSU to ask if we should bring him back in. The doctor told us that based on his symptoms we did not need to bring him in unless he got worse and advised that we take him to our pediatrician the next day.
I called our pediatrician as soon as they opened on Monday morning. The nurse told me that the doctor said we should go back to the ER.
We returned to the ER where Carver was found to be severely dehydrated again and was lethargic, but without any congestion. He was immediately started on IV fluids and they started running tests to try and figure out what was wrong.
Again, all of the initial tests came back negative. We were admitted again and taken upstairs to a room where he continued to receive IV hydration. More and more doctors rotated through performing various tests.
This continued through Wednesday with no indication of what was wrong. Carver started eating a bit more but the doctors determined that he was not getting enough nutrition from nursing so we were instructed to begin bottle feeding and tracking his intake.
By Wednesday night Carver stopped taking the bottle again. Like before, he wanted to eat but would not suck on the bottle once it was in his mouth. To try and avoid a feeding tube, Greg started feeding him with a syringe. I continued to feed him with a syringe through Thursday morning until he started spitting up each little bit he swallowed. In between trying to get him to take the milk, he started repeatedly alternating between being alert and very fussy to seemingly and periods of seeming asleep. These transitions happened rapidly like a light switch had been switched off.
Our nurse examined Carver during these episodes, left the room, and then came back a few minutes later with 6 other people including the doctor from the PICU. After observing the fussy to sleeping behavior the doctor told me that Carver had to be transferred to the PICU immediately.
I woke Greg up in tears. I was confused and had no idea what was going on, what had happened and why the doctors and nurses were acting like this was suddenly an emergency.
After being evaluated in the PICU by the neurology team, Carver was taken for an MRI and Greg and I were warned that he could have a metabolic condition and that brain damage was likely. A few hours later a team of doctors came in to give us the MRI results. We were told that Carver had had a stroke that had cut off the blood supply to the basal ganglia deep in the center of his brain resulting in permanent damage to a significant portion of both hemispheres on his brain. We were told that the extent of the damage was unknown but he had to be treated immediately with blood thinner and medication to manage the seizures he was having and stop the clot from growing. We were warned that the next 72 hours were critical and that they would be monitoring him closely to watch for hemorrhaging in his brain. At the time, the doctors told us that, if Carver survived, he would have severe brain damage, affecting both his cognitive and motor functions. A few days later, after his second MRI, the doctors updated his prognosis, telling us that the damage may be limited to motor functions.
Carver was hooked up to an EEG to monitor his seizure activity, he got a chest x-ray, an ultrasound of his abdomen, more blood tests than I can count, stool tests, and was visited by an endless stream of doctors. He started physical therapy to keep his limbs and the rest of his body from getting stiff. He is also being taught to recognize his top, bottom, left, right and center. Without knowing exactly what the brain damage is, the goal is to help his brain make those connections. He also started receiving respiratory therapy to help him get rid of any mucus that can build up in his lungs while he is sedated and not crying.
After reaching a therapeutic dose of his blood thinners and anti seizure medication Carver stabilized. He began receiving IV nutrition while he was on gut rest.
Finally, on Thursday, April 1st, Carver opened his eye for the first time in 6 days. After that he slowly began to improve. Each day his eyes open more and become more alert and he is able to suck on his pacifier with more control. He developed a barking cough that needed to be treated with medication to open his airways and prevent inflammation.
Now, Carver is off the IV blood thinners and instead receiving a twice daily injection which we can continue when we take him home. One of his two anti seizure medications is being tapered down and the second one will be converted to an oral medication that we can continue to give him at home. On Monday he started getting formula through a feeding tube and, since he is tolerating it well, the volume will slowly increase to replace the IV nutrients. The goal is to start bottle feedings and then return to breast milk.
We still have no idea what caused all of this. He is a little mystery. The current thought is that he has an underlying condition that made him susceptible to clotting and when he got dehydrated he developed a clot that caused the stroke. If that is the case, we still do not know what caused him to get so sick in the first place leading to the stomach issues and dehydration. We have several tests still pending and are starting to test for very rare conditions after everything else has come back negative.
Fundraising team (3)
Mia Getlin
Organizer
West Linn, OR
Allie McGee
Beneficiary
Erin McGee
Team member