In the blink of an eye, a fun arts and crafts activity turned life-threatening for 7-month-old Asher.
Asher was watching others play with art sand when the granules accidentally got in his mouth as he inhaled, making it hard to breathe. Asher’s mom, Taya, called 911 and a fast-acting cascade of life-saving care began. First responders were able to get Asher breathing again and he was transported to his local hospital. More specialized care was needed to help save Asher, and he was transported to Children’s Mercy. When Asher arrived, our surgery, cardiology, blood bank, ECMO, ENT and pulmonology teams were ready to spring into action.
Asher was put on an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine, which functions as the patient’s heart and lungs in life-threatening situations. Putting a child on ECMO is not an easy decision. But Children’s Mercy teams worked for hours to clear the sand out of his lungs – thankfully, with great success.
“It was not a given that this child would survive,” said Dr. Sarah Brunner, Medical Director, Pediatric Care Unit Quality Improvement. “It took every single person at that bedside to make this outcome happen, and it had to be done fast. It was very much a team effort and provided a real connection to purpose and to our true mission.”
Asher has now fully recovered, returned home and is back to being his smiley, happy self! 💙
Program Manager @ Walter Reed National Medical Military Center-DOD-GME (Graduate Medical Education)
1moCongrats to all!!! My friend Dr Obermeyer still going strong!