Allie

My husband tells me to stop reading about other I-Cell children.  Perhaps he's right.  Am I losing my sanity?  Or am I saving it?  In a perverse twisted universe I feel more grounded by getting to know other I-Cell families, learning about what I should and should not expect for the year(s) ahead with Niko.

Allie has the flu and strep.  She cannot breathe on her own anymore.  she was intubated.

Allie now faces two very scary procedures.
The doctors determined that she needs to get a tracheotomy, however her neck is so small the operation would be problematic.
She also will need to be fed by a G-tube.  To make this more complicated, Allie has a hernia (common for I-Cell kids) which pushes most of her organs up to her chest.  Her stomach is near her rib cage by her left arm pit, which makes this procedure a difficult one.

I saw a video of Allie in the hospital with a bi-pap covering most of her face.  Her eyes were fixed on her mother and she kept repeating these words slowly in her beautiful high pitched voice, "I… Love… You… I… Love… You..."  I don't think I'll ever forget that scene.

Allie has two healthy sisters and a third sister who also has I-Cell.