In Loving Memory of Olivia Grace Shaw
Olivia Grace was born on Friday, July 24th, at Conemaugh Memorial Hospital at 5:14 p.m. Her twin brother, Samuel Robert, came into the world a few minutes later at 5:22 p.m. Both babies were perfect, and they were immediately loved by all who saw them. On Sunday afternoon, after two days at the hospital, we were sent home to start our new life with twins. We spent the evening with family, getting to know our newest members. Love was overflowing, touching everyone the babies met.
The following morning, we took the twins to their pediatrician for their initial checkup. Both babies seemed perfectly healthy at the time. However, when they checked Olivia's temperature, it was low—just over 95 degrees. In an effort to bring her temperature up, we tried skin-to-skin contact. It helped slightly, but not enough. Their doctor recommended that we take her to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHOP) immediately. We assumed this was just related to her not being able to regulate her body temperature yet. We figured, worst-case scenario, she might have to spend some time in an incubator. We arrived at CHOP a couple of hours later and were immediately seen in the emergency room. Her temperature was still low, but she still seemed like a normal baby, though she was just starting to become a little lethargic. Over the next couple of hours, the ER ran multiple tests. Her bloodwork indicated that she had an infection, and they soon moved us to the NICU.
Shortly after arriving at the NICU, our fears began to grow. Her breathing became more labored, and they gave her supplemental oxygen. Her stats began to drop, and shortly thereafter, she was intubated and placed on a ventilator to breathe for her so her lungs could rest. Despite this, she continued to decline. Within hours, Olivia went into septic shock. At this time, the doctors knew she was fighting an infection, but they were not sure what it was. Options were discussed, and there weren't many. Her best fighting chance was to be placed on ECMO life support. As it was close to 2:00 a.m., a surgeon was called in, and they began prepping her for a high-risk surgery. While they prepped, we prayed. A pastor was called in to meet with us, and Olivia was baptized before the procedure. It was unbelievably scary.
A couple of hours later, a doctor came in and told us the surgery was successful and that they were just closing her up. They also had to place a monitor into a vein so they could track her vitals more accurately. This felt like wonderful news. But then they told us about the complications during the surgery, and our hearts broke. While in the operating room, she had to have CPR administered three times, and she had suffered bleeding in her lungs. Our little girl was so sick. Despite all of that, the ECMO was working, she was still alive, and we had hope. Over the next several hours, we continued to pray, and the amazing team at the hospital continued working to find the best way to heal our little girl.
Despite their interventions, the infection continued to spread. Early the next morning, we were told that the infection had reached her brain, but they were still holding out hope that it could be beaten. They planned to add additional devices to the ECMO to filter her blood and provide dialysis. A couple of hours later, we were told that her central monitoring lines had failed, so they needed to find new veins or arteries for monitoring. As the septic shock progressed, this became a harder and harder task. They could not find any access points in her arms or her legs, but they finally managed to get a line in through her belly button. Again, we had a little bit of hope. Her stats began to rebound, but sadly, that relief didn't last long.
Within a couple of hours, we were told that we had to make a choice between more interventions—which did not carry much chance of a positive outcome—or letting her go in peace. We made the heartbreaking choice and held her in our arms as she took her final breaths. We told her in those final moments how much we loved her and how she would always be a part of our lives. She then went to heaven to be with her family and our Lord.
The Remembrance Cart provided by the Adalyn Rose Foundation, along with the trained staff who assisted us in creating castings, handprints, and footprints, provided a wonderful way to help us remember Olivia Grace. They gave us tangible memories that we can hold, see, and appreciate. Each item we selected was incredibly special and, through Olivia's handprints, is forever marked with her memory.