A Battle Well Fought

I write this update with a heavy heart. Today, as we expected, the doctors called for a Care Conference. Julie, myself, and our father went into a large conference room with about 20 doctors and nurses. (Our mom and Aunt Martha tried to get there, but didn't in time.) They told us that there is nothing more that can be done for Collin, and we should consider terminating his treatment, reducing the amount of treatment, or stopping part of the treatment. They said that the odds of him surviving at this time are pretty much zero.

So, Julie decided, with the assistance of Heath and the rest of the family, that we will be stopping treatment on Collin tomorrow, Wednesday March 23, in the afternoon hours sometime. They will stop treatment whenever Julie is ready. Riley Hospital will be making plaster molds of Collin's foot and hand for Julie and her family to keep. The Hospital is also doing everything they can to keep Collin and all of us comfortable and such during this very difficult time.

Julie has said that anyone who would like to visit may do so, tonight and tomorrow. Anyone who would like to be in the room when we stop the treatment may do so (unless Julie changes her mind last minute, of course). Anyone can be in the hospital waiting room or whatever when we stop the treatment as well. If you do not wish to visit him before we stop treatment or be there, we totally understand and do not want anyone to feel obligated to be there. Everyone will cope with this tragedy in their own way.

We do not know how long Collin will be with us after we stop treament. The doctors have said that we probably only have a couple of days until Collin passes away on his own because he is bleeding heavily internally, but they are not sure where. That is why Julie and the family decided to stop treatment so quickly. However, when we remove the vent, he may breath on his own for a time - we have no idea how long. Julie and I believe he will breath for a few minutes at least. He could last minutes, hours, or longer, but it is unlikey that he will last very long.

The doctors have found blood in his vent and in the tube pulling bile from his stomach, in addition to the blood coming from his mouth. They aren't sure if it is swallowed or aspirated blood, but they know he is bleeding somewhere because he is going through a lot of red blood cells (blood transfusions) and platelet transfusions. That is the biggest indicator of the bleeding. They said the fact that the CT showed nothing yesterday could mean the bleeding wasn't bad enough then to see. They aren't sure. Either way, Collin is showing many signs that it is getting close to the end, and the doctors do not want to keep torturing him with this aggressive treatment that can be painful at times if he is not going to survive, and neither do we. They said the high bleeding will take him in a couple of days at most if we do nothing.

Today, we were told that Marion County has no more blood platelets available, and the hospital was short. Please donate blood and blood products in Collin's honor. Even though it will not reach Collin in time, please do this to ensure there is plenty of blood for others. Thank you.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns, if you want to help, etc. Email or text is best. At this time, we just would like to encourage you to keep donating blood and blood products to ensure another child doesn't go without the lifesaving blood they need. If you would like to make cash donations to cover the medical bills or other costs, please let me know or see the "How to Help" page on this blog. I will advise you all as soon as I know when the funeral arrangements will be.

I am so very proud of my sister. She decided a few weeks ago that Collin will be an total organ donor once he is no longer with us. This means that they will be permitted to take whatever they can use. Julie says that maybe Collin's purpose was to save another child's life. I am so glad she decided to do that!

That is all I have for now. Let me know if you have questions, etc. Seriously, you are not a bother. Let me know what is confusing, etc. I'll keep you all updated as best I can.

Julie and our entire family thanks you all from the bottom of our hearts for your love and support throughout this ordeal. We love you all.

Love,

Jenn Wilson
"Aunt Sissy"
317-430-0805
jenndwilson83@yahoo.com