Help Harriet

Over the course of the last few months Harriet had been in and out of hospital with breathing problems, that were related to her Nasal Gastric tube moving and causing infections on her chest.

Harriet has developed a very strong sneeze, which we think is a new reflex and that the tube may be causing her some discomfort. The problem with Harriet now having a strong sneeze is that it could be very detrimental to her health; the Nasal Gastric tube has been blown out of position and could potentially pump milk or medicine directly into her lungs.

We always take an aspirate to make sure the tube is located in Harriet`s stomach before any medicine or feed is pumped directly down the feeding tube. If the nasal gastric tube was moved during a feed, then this is something that we would not be able to monitor easily.

On Saturday night we were struggling to get a good aspirate, the nasal gastric tube looked as though it had moved from Harriet`s stomach and therefore the tube would need to be pulled out and threaded back down. We spent a good couple of hours trying to get the tube in place, but the aspirate readings were dangerous and there was no way Harriet could have had her feed or medicines until we were sure everything was safe.

The only option was to take Harriet to accident and emergency at the Royal Derby Hospital, it was now very cold and a few minutes passed midnight.

As we arrived at the hospital, we signed Harriet in and within a few minutes the nurse asked us to take Harriet through into one of the bays. The nurse asked us what seemed to be the problem and we explained the problems we had been experiencing with the nasal gastric tube.

We would like to say a very Big Thank you to all those at the Eze Fitness gym in Derby for taking time out to raise £125.00 during the Easter period, for the HELP HARRIET TRUST.

The Eze Fitness team have told us that they are just getting started and are looking to raise further funds for Harriet in June.

You can also support HARRIET by taking part in sponsored events like a Marathon, Walking, Music Event, Parachute Jump, Car Boot, Quiz Night or anything you feel you could do to Help Harriet.

If you would like to discuss how you can raise money for the HELP HARRIET TRUST, please contact Penny Murphy This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or click on the DONATE button at the top of any of the pages on Harriet`s website.

Mum and Dad

Harriet had been extremely poorly over the last few months, no sooner had she got over one cold or virus, would she then come down with something else that would have a devastating effect on her respiratory system.

The consultants at the Derby Royal Hospital were unable to explain why Harriet was experiencing so many episodes of respiratory distress and could only manage the problem, rather than treat the cause.

We needed a respiratory specialist and decided to contact professor Vyas, at the Queen`s Medical centre in Nottingham. After speaking with professor Vyas, he said that he would be happy to see Harriet, but we would need to get a referral from Harriet`s GP.

The referral was sent the hospital and we were fortunate enough to get an appointment to see professor Vyas the following week.

We arrived at the Queen`s Medical Centre in Nottingham with Harriet on Thursday and went straight up to E Floor, to see Professor Vyas. Within a few short minutes, we were called into the room with Harriet and sat down while Harriet`s the notes were read.

Harriet had been experiencing episodes of erratic breathing during the day and had to be given a special ventolin nebulizer, to open up her airways and help stabilize her breathing. The nebulizers only seemed to give Harriet relief from her symptoms for short periods of time and her respiratory condition seemed to be getting worse as the day progressed.

In the early hours of last Tuesday morning, Harriet was rushed to the Derby Royal hospital in respiratory distress, her condition had become dangerous and she was now fighting for her life.

The hospital’s emergency team were on hand very quickly and spent several hours getting Harriet`s breathing stabilized, before she was transferred onto the dolphin intensive care unit.

Harriet was still in respiratory distress all day Tuesday, but then showed some signs of improvement and was released from the ward Wednesday night.

Harriet had been referred to Dr.Broderick at the Derby Children’s Hospital, for Botulinum injections to help relax the muscles in her right leg.

We initially had a consultation with Dr.Broderick last Thursday, she had a good look at Harriet and thought that the Botulinum injection would be beneficial and hopefully relax the muscles in Harriet`s right leg.

Dr. Broderick went over Harriet`s medical records to check for chest infections and anything that would cause concern, but was happy for Harriet to have the injection in her next clinic. There were some risks associated with the Botulinum injection that could potentially cause problems with a patient’s chest muscles and therefore given Harriet`s complex neurological condition it was decided that a lower dose would be given.

Dr.Broderick explained that we would normally have to wait a month for the injection, but had a clinic the following day and could give Harriet the Botulinum injection, if this is what we wanted to do.