Little Alicia Delbridge appears to have taken a significant step towards recovery as she battles a rare heart ailment, says her family who is with her in a Calgary hospital.
Her father, Cory, the assistant manager at Canada Safeway here, has informed friends here that the breathing tube that’s been necessary to keep her alive was successfully removed Wednesday and the feisty one-year-old now appears to be breathing on her own.
On two previous occasions, Alicia’s heart stopped when doctors tried to remove the tube, so this has been interpreted as a significant improvement.
Delbridge said his daughter appears to be alert and responsive, and that he and his wife, Christina, were thrilled to be able to hold her for nearly an hour.
“It seems like forever since were able to do that last,” he wrote in an e-mail forwarded to the Times on Thursday.
Alicia has been in critical condition since Aug. 6 when she was diagnosed with myocarditis—a rare disease that causes dangerous inflammation of the heart muscles.
Delbridge said the family and doctors are optimistic, but cautioned it still is too early to consider her out of danger.
However, he noted her liver (which also was affected by the disease) has shrunk back to its normal size and tests currently are underway to determine if it is functioning properly again.
Delbridge stressed the cardiologist in charge of Alicia’s case told him it is too soon to determine how long her recovery will take, or how much residual damage her heart may have sustained.
Furthermore, it has not yet been determined exactly what caused the medical crisis in the first place, but this is the first positive sign since the family’s ordeal began two weeks ago.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
