Support Leah's Fight for Recovery

3/14 @ 5 AM

Leah Update ❤️‍ Hospital Stay Day 9, PICU Day 2 Leah had a pretty calm night for once. She had a repeat X-ray that showed her pleural effusion has not grown. This is great news meaning we can hold off on having to place the chest tube for now! She’s still on pretty high support for breathing with her A-Vap machine. The entire team of doctors and nurses met with me last night and explained that they are truly stumped. They have never seen a 2-year-old have this much support for this long period of time. They will repeat bloodwork later this morning to confirm nothing has changed. This morning they will reevaluate the course of treatment for Leah and decide if they need to change anything else.

3/13 @ 7:30 PM

Leah Update ❤️‍ 

Little lady wanted mommy to lay down with her, so that’s exactly what we did. No improvement on the APAP machine today. Her body isn’t having to work as hard to breather so that’s a good thing. They did a second ultrasound today and can see fluid around her lungs but didn’t believe there was enough to do the procedure of placing a tube to drain it. They will rescan in the morning and reevaluate that. Her antibiotics were changed to something a bit stronger in hopes that kicks in and starts killing off some of this nasty stuff. She had visits from Child Life, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Therapy and nutritionists today so it was a very busy day with very little rest. Friends, Family and strangers thank you for all of the love and support you have shown our little family! You have helped make this whole experience a touch less stressful.

3/12 @ 8:50 AM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Leah had a pretty rough night last night in the ICU. She has a new breathing machine and isn’t a fan of it. She had an ultrasound done of her heart last night. Everything looks good with her heart. They did an X-ray as well and she has fluid outside of her lungs. They are going to do an ultrasound of her chest and depending on those results they will need to drain the fluid. This will require a tube being placed through her ribs to do so. Her care team has ordered additional antibiotics, steroids and tests to help our baby girl. They are all very concerned about her and why she is struggling so much to breathe and requires so much help breathing. Please pray for Leah.

ICU is absolutely no fun for anyone and absolutely no one is sleeping here. Please consider donating to either Leah’s GoFundMe or via Venmo as we will be looking into hotel rooms so that we can take turns getting a few hours of sleep here and there and a shower.

We are on the waiting list for the parent sleep rooms as well as have an appointment scheduled to meet with a social worker to discuss our other options. Any help with hotel or meals is GREATLY appreciated until we can get more help lined up through the hospital.

3/11 @ 3:40 PM

Leah Update ❤️‍

We had a Rapid Response Team called again for Leah. PICU consulted and will be making the decision on whether to transfer her or not in the next hour.

3/11 @ 2 PM

Leah Update ❤️‍

After lots of conversations and discussions Nic and I have made the very hard decision to have a feeding tube placed for Leah. She is still not eating or drinking and continues to decline. The line will be placed in the next hour. We will have another bedside huddle at 2:30 to discuss the next steps as we are still sitting on the edge of being transferred to PICU. Send our sweet girl all the extra love today.

3/11 @ 8:30 AM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Another long tough night for Leah. She is sitting above floor max again. A team huddle is planned for 8:30a to discuss next steps. She’s started having seizure like episodes so they are really going to keep an eye on that. It does look like a feeding tube is going to be placed. Keep the prayers coming for our little girl! She’s hanging in there with everything she’s got left.

3/10 @ 7 PM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Leah all of the sudden rapidly declined!! Pray pray pray!! She is back on high flow and floor max and that is still not enough. They are doing shift change now and than will be consulting with PICU for a transfer. She spiked a high fever again and out of nowhere just declined so fast. Dropped into the low 70’s and now can’t get out of the 80’s. It’s going to be another very long night for us. Pray for Leah!

3/10 @ 5 PM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Leah is still having trouble eating and drinking and maintaining her oxygen. We narrowly missed having a feeding tube placed today. Leah has to really pick up on eating and drinking through the evening or she will have to have one put in place. None of us want a feeding tube for her but since it has been 7 days since she has ate or drank it is getting to that point. She is still on 3 liters of oxygen and is only stating around 90%. When turned down to 1.5-2 liters she drops to the low 80% very quickly. We are hoping her poor lungs can recover soon. Leah was able to get out of bed today and enjoy a little bit on sunshine from the couch. It was so nice to finally have her out of bed as she hasn’t been for 8+ days.

3/10 @ 7: 45 AM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Another great night for Leah! She was weened to 2.5 liters of O2. She did struggle a bit on that once she started coughing so it had to be moved back up to 3.5. The plan for today is keep pushing food and drink, she still has ate or drank anything since last Tuesday. They will also send in physical therapy today as she’s not able to stand or walk on her own. Lots of great progress for our little girl!

Please say an extra prayer for Jaxson today. Daddy had to go home to him as he has spiked a high fever now. We are hoping and praying he doesn’t get the same nasty virus Leah is fighting.

3/9 @ 7:15 PM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Finally some progress today!! X-ray came back showing spots of build up in her lungs. They aren’t sure if it’s viral or bacterial so are going to wait on treating that. They have continued therapy with the respiratory therapist throughout the day and will over night as well. Leah came off the high flow oxygen and was moved back to low flow. She was stating pretty low on it but we are hopeful with time that will stabilize. Still no food or drink since Tuesday. Doctors told us this morning we are about a day to, a day and a half from needing a feeding tube. Bloodwork today is starting to show signs of malnourishment so we are really trying to push her to try food and fluids. She has continued throwing up today so the doctor proscribed her anti-nausea medication. That seems to be helping her. She got a visit from Uncle B today and loved it! She sat on his lap for a little bit in the chair and even played in the iPad with him. She is making progress and that is all we can ask for!!

3/9 @ 8 AM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Leah continued to decline throughout the night. After lots of pushing and repeat asking they finally put Leah back on IV fluids as well as ordered a chest X-ray. She still remains at floor max on her oxygen. Please keep the prayers coming! Pray that her care team can finally figure out the full picture of what’s going on with her and help her start improving.

3/8/25 @ 8:30 PM

Leah Update ❤️‍

We are already starting to have a rough night. Leah has once again regressed and is nearing floor max on her breathing machine and still dipping down into the 86 range. Still no food or water in her since Tuesday. We are afraid that she’s going to fall back behind on the fluids and become extremely dehydrated again as she is no longer on IV fluids. We have requested an X-ray, as the respiratory therapists as well as nurses hear lots of crackling in her left lung. She has yet again spiked a fever even though she is on around the clock Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Tomorrow is day 7 of Leah trying to fight this off with no measurable results nor an end in sight. Our baby girl continues to fight with everything she has in her but her numbers are showing that she doesn’t have a lot left in her. Please continue praying for Leah!

3/8/25 @ 4:30PM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Not much has changed since the last update. We were able to get Leah out of bed today and she sat in the chair for a good 45 minutes. She played with some stickers and Mickey Mouse. She still has not eaten or drank anything since Tuesday afternoon. They have stopped all IV fluids in hopes that will encourage her to drink something. The plan right now is to stay the course and let her little body decide what’s next. They have scheduled around the clock Tylenol and Ibuprofen to make sure she’s comfortable as we know the poor thing has to be in some pain. Children’s brought in an iPad with some games on it and she has used that a bit today as well. If Leah continues to spike fevers a repeat X-ray will be done just to ensure things haven’t turned into phenomena as that will change the course of treatment. They hear quite a bit of rattling in her left lung and that’s a bit concerning. Please continue the prayers for Leah!

3/8/25 @ 7:45 AM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Another rough night for our little girl. She has once again hit floor max on her breathing machine. The doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists tell us she is really riding a fine line of needing additional breathing support and being moved floors to receive that. She has started having drooping over her face and very little neck mobility. They are concerned now for meningitis and/or Bells Palsy and will continue to monitor. Leah is going on day 6 of uncontrolled high fevers and unable to breathe for herself. Doctors are showing a bit of concern for that as they do not like kiddos having fevers for 5+ days. In the middle of the night another bedside huddle was done with a team of medical professionals to reevaluate her. For the past 5 days Leah’s heart rate has been very high…180+ clear up to 210 at times. In the middle of the night her heart rate dropped dramatically and is not to low. They fear this is a sign of her body starting to show signs of being over worked as it has been in overdrive for the past week. Leah has continued to be labeled as a “watcher” meaning she needs checked every hour as she could take a turn at any moment. Please continue to pray for Leah! Poor girl is fighting with everything she has. ❤️‍

3/7/25 @ 3 PM

Leah Update ❤️‍

Not much to update on at this point. Leah had a tiny bit of energy today and sat up in bed for the first time since Tuesday. She even cracked a couple smiles at us and colored for about 10 minutes. She has since reverted back to her previous state and the breathing machine had to be turned back up. She’s had a few other signs and symptoms that the doctors are going to watch closely just to ensure it’s nothing major. We did manage to get her out of bed and she’s laying in mommy’s arms and even got held by daddy for a little why the bedding was changed. Leah showed us little glimpses of herself today and that makes us so happy and gives us lots of hope. Keep praying for our little girl.

3/7/25 @ 8AM - Leah Update ❤️‍ Last night was our worst night since being at Children’s. After several hours of trying to get her breathing above 85 while still on high flow oxygen of 12 liters Leah wasn’t responding. Around 12:38a a full code and Rapid Response Team was called. Within about 10 minutes a sea of 30+ doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists and others were filling Leah’s room and the hallway outside her room. Talk about feeling helpless when your baby needs you most. There was so much happening all at once there wasn’t even room for mommy or daddy to hold her little hand and tell her it was going to be okay. After all the additional staff having eyes on her, her care plan was changed and a few things added on in hopes that her little body will continue to fight. Pray for Leah Marie! Her little body is fighting as much as it possibly can! Pray Pray Pray!

3/6/25 @ 10PM - Leah Update ❤️‍ Leah has continued to decline this evening. She has hit floor max of liter as well as saturation on her breathing machine. They are assembling a team now for a bedside huddle that will discuss the next steps and a transfer to the PICU. Please pray for our baby! She is not herself right now and it just breaks my heart.

On March 3, Leah came home from a normal day at daycare with a low-grade fever. She was seen by a family physician on Tuesday morning (March 4th) who cleared Leah of all major illnesses and sent her home to recover. On Wednesday (March 5th) morning at 12:30 a.m., Leah woke up with a 106 temp. She was immediately taken to Sterling Emergency Room where she was kept for a few hours and again cleared of all major illnesses and sent home to recover. After a long day at home with a sick kiddo, Jessica took Leah back to the ER yet again. This time she was showing signs of distress. Leah was quickly triaged in Sterling and airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Aurora, CO. Despite the best efforts of her doctors and the incredible care she’s receiving, Leah has not shown any signs of improvement. She remains in the hospital and will be there for the foreseeable future, requiring constant care and attention.

Leah’s mom, Jessica Burt, who just returned to work after taking time off to care for Leah’s new baby brother, Jaxson, is now facing the added hardship of being off work again—this time without pay. The financial strain is becoming overwhelming as medical bills continue to mount, and the Burt family is focused solely on Leah’s recovery.

We are reaching out to our community for support during this incredibly challenging time. Any contribution, no matter how small, will help alleviate some of the financial burden and allow Leah’s family to focus on what truly matters: Leah’s healing and well-being.

Please join us in sending love, prayers, and support to Leah and her family. Your generosity will make a world of difference.

Thank you for your kindness and support.

For those that wish to send directly to the Burt Family, Jessica’s Venmo is @jessica-burt-195

#LeahStrong