My Little Girl.

[KurtB]

Hello Everyone,

I was asked by someone on SELOC to post my news here, to aid fund raising for the Queens Medical Centre (Nottingham) Paediatric Child Care Unit (QMC PCCU). 

On 25th August we (my wife Helen, youngest daughter Amy (6) and I) visited Amy’s godmother and partner for a little boat trip on their canal cruiser and evening BBQ. After a full day cruising small tributaries in Lincolnshire under the sun, we went back to their place, let the dog out, lit the BBQ and cracked open a beer. The day was blissful and the company sublime. We had a burger and the sausages were on. About 2 hours after cruising, we were really relaxed. I noted Amy squatting next to the dog (a staffy) saying lovely things with her arm across its muscular shoulders before it turned and tore off her upper lip. We were all within 10 feet and in clear sight of the incident. 

We all witnessed the attack, the guttural scream, and the blood. I reacted instantly, compressed the wound, told the godmother to call the ambulance, reassured Amy that she had a cut lip. Shock cut in and as we made the journey to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham (a journey of 1.25 hours as the air ambulance wasn’t available), my daughter lay on my lap looking into my eyes. I smiled and smiled talking about our recent holiday to Tenerife and the fun we had in the pool, her eyes were glazed. 

Without going into too much detail, Amy underwent emergency surgery to reattach the recovered lip, and heavily sedated. She was in this state as the consultant was only able to connect one artery, one vein and leaches (yep, leaches) took away the excess blood. At one point she stopped breathing and we feared the worst. The result of the operation was unsuccessful and on 06/09/19 the dead lip was removed in the second surgical procedure my girl has endured. After a period of coming down off the drugs that kept her sedated, we left the QMC on Monday 9th Sept. 

We’ll be back on the 17th for corrective surgery including a reverse face lift to give her some skin to join under her nose, and 1/3rd of her lower lip flipped up to help the 80% of her upper lip that was taken away. She’ll have her lips sewn together for at least 3 weeks, her head bandaged to stop her attempting to open her mouth, a tracheostomy, and be unable to speak. Her lips will then be separated and we can come home. There'll be lots more surgery to come over the next 20 years (that's how long we'll be on the consultants books), to reduce scaring and give her a larger mouth if possible. It’s all truly heartbreaking.....

My workmates have started a Go Fund Me page to raise money for the utterly amazing support Amy received whilst in the QMC children’s intensive care unit. I can’t imagine she could be in better hands, I owe them so much. The link is below and I'm happy for the link to be shared, but not the above story, as I don't need Amy to be part of a media circus, and there'll be a criminal investigation launched regarding the dogs (unbeknown to us) multiple incidents. Please believe me that the people who work at the PCCU do remarkable things every day, and anything you can afford to give will go towards supplies and equipment for the unit. 

My wife (Helen) and I are going to contribute directly to the staff's Christmas function and also get hampers for the staff who'll miss the function as they'll be working. I hope none of you or your families need the services they provide, but if they do, they'll be great hands

Kindest Regards,

Kurt Barker

www.gofundme.com .. ;utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

[scatty]

Sending love Kurt. Xx

Thinking of you all... I know first hand how good they are at qmc. Mrs scatty has been in for the past two weeks (for another day)...Those nurses work tirelessly in their 12 hour shifts...

 

 

[lanteryu]

I now work (in IT) for a hospital, it seems to have much more point than fixing stuff for banks shops n offices. Dogs can't be trusted, my grand niece and nephew age 4 and 7 live with two big dogs, I wish my niece would get rid but she can't be talked to.

Get well and lively again as soon as you can, Amy!

[collieek]

Blimey Kurt I don,t know what to say just my heart goes out too you all. 

 

[Meister]

A heart-wrenching story. I hope all goes well for your daughter.

Mark

[russelld]

Kurt my thoughts are with you all, wishing for the best outcome for Amy.

[DeanB]

That is so awful Kurt, I feel so sorry for you all. Heartbreaking, as you say. If there's anything i can do let me know.

Dean

[@ndy]

So sorry to hear this Kurt, Mine and Debbie's thoughts and best wishes go out to you all.

[Phil S1]

Terrible news Kurt, very best wishes that all goes well for little Amy.

[jonnyfox]

I can only echo all the above Kurt, our love to your family. Donation made 👊🏻

[smithpaulg]

Kurt

Really sorry to hear your news, my heart goes out to you and your family.  

best wishes

Paul

[The Cakes]

That really is heartbreaking news Kurt, wishing Amy and your family all the best. 

[Daveb99]

Kurt, my wife and I have read your terrible news and are lost for words.  Truly heartbreaking and we wish you all well with what sounds like a very long journey from here, fingers crossed for you all and especially Amy.

[KurtB]

Amy update from last night:
Amy went into theatre later than planned at 12.30, very happy giggling and chatting. We were called back at 4pm to see our two main surgeons. There were pleased with the surgery but it had not progressed as planned. Once they took the crescents from either side of her nose they were able to close the gap above her lip. They are seeing this as a big success. The next step would have been to do the lip switch, however the very small size of Amys new mouth meant that a tracheostomy would have been necessary. The consensus of the team was that this would not be in Amys best interests. So the lip switch has not been done, and instead we will now wait for the stitching to recover and there will be follow up lip switch/cosmetic surgery once we see how this turns out and also with Amy doing ‘lip stretching’ exercises. Short term she has a very small upper lip, making her lower lip disproportionate. The shape of her cheeks and lower face has also changed, and there is stitching around the bottom and sides of her nose as well as one scar from nose to lip where the join is. The down side is that we will be back for further major surgery at some point in the future, maybe 1-2 years. The up side is that the further intervention was limited, Amy does not have her lips stitched together, and there is a good chance we can be home sooner to speed recovery. We will of course have a period of adjustment to Amys very small mouth, but we support the decision made by the team to postpone the lip switch work until this healing is secure. Amy is subdued but well in herself, watching a film and daddy has just fed her some weetabix. We feel worn out but relieved. More work another time, but today she is safe and well. 

And from this morning:
The start of a new day for Amy. After her enforced pre op starvation yesterday morning, Amy enjoyed weetabix, coco pops, yoghurt and noodles before sleepy time. So, nothing wrong with her appetite (she likes her food so it’s a good indicator of how she’s feeling). 

Hourly observations during the night, but apart from one of her meds alarming at night which roused her, she was absolutely out like a light! I must confess that I just had to check her a few times to see how she was, but all is well. 

We’ve played a card game this morning and put on The Nutcracker DVD, and she’s ready for Weetabix when I left for the hotel to freshen up. 

Since the op, she has a very tight “moustache area”, but no upper lip as such. It’s taped over at the moment to protect the stitches from food detritus, but the dressing will be changed today as it’s a bit crusty. Feeding is with a baby spoon, but it’s all going in! 

I’m so proud of my little girl.

I did manage to find a few minutes for a snooze this afternoon, in my favourite polo shirt....

[The Cakes]

Tear to my eye Kurt. All sounds very positive and you are all being very brave.