Payton’s Radiothon Story

When Payton developed a sore throat, her parents chalked it up to the communal acold and thought with immoderate remainder she would rapidly recover. However, they started reasoning thing mightiness beryllium incorrect erstwhile Payton refused adjacent a popsicle to soothe her throat.

Payton’s dad, Mike, brought her to the session adjacent Lethbridge wherever her mom, Andrea, works arsenic a nurse. The 2nd Andrea saw Payton she knew thing was earnestly wrong, and unneurotic her parents rushed her to a adjacent hospital. There, Payton was instantly taken to the operating country and for a terrifying moment, she stopped breathing. Doctors knew Payton needed specialized attraction from the experts astatine the Alberta Children’s Hospital, truthful they called successful the community-funded Pediatric Critical Care Transport squad to get her determination rapidly and safely. The squad was capable to intubate Payton truthful she could respire and loaded her and Andrea onto a fixed-wing airplane, portion Mike rapidly gathered the belongings they’d request and followed down successful the car to Calgary.

They would aboriginal larn Payton had Influenza and Invasive Group A streptococcal, which were attacking her epiglottis – a portion of the pharynx – and compromising her airway. Andrea was terrified, arsenic she knew conscionable however superior the concern was, but she besides knew Payton was successful bully hands. She says the knowledgeable and experienced transport squad explained everything successful real-time and she volition ne'er hide their faces – she credits them with redeeming her small girl’s life.

At the Alberta Children’s Hospital, doctors showed Andrea and Mike photos of conscionable however swollen Payton’s epiglottis was and helped them recognize what the attraction program would look like. Even though Payton was sedated and intubated, Andrea said the unit talked to her similar she was awake and aware, conscionable similar immoderate different kid. Payton spent six days successful the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) intubated and sedated. After that she spent different 2 days awake and focused connected recovery, including eating again.

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Andrea says erstwhile Payton was awake, their infirmary squad did small things to marque her enactment a small spot brighter, similar bringing her movies to ticker and books from the library. She adjacent got a sojourn from 1 of the community-funded MEDi robots – which are designed to assistance enactment kids astatine ease. A Child Life Specialist brought the robot to Payton – thing Andrea said she volition ne'er forget.

Today Payton has recovered from the terrifying acquisition and is simply a happy, steadfast nine-year-old. Andrea says she credits the unit astatine the Alberta Children’s Hospital and the Pediatric Critical Care Transport Team for redeeming her small girl, thing she calls a “miracle.”