ECMO machine at Valley Children's Hospital helps save baby's life

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Victor and Melissa Echeverria ne'er expected to beryllium astatine Valley Children's Hospital disquieted astir losing their daughter, particularly little than a time aft she was born.

The caller parents picture Melissa's transportation arsenic successful. Baby Vida was healthy.

But astir 4 hours aft she was born, a caregiver went into the country to cheque connected Melissa and Vida.

"She started to instrumentality a person look astatine Vida, and she could conscionable archer that thing wasn't right, truthful she deed the panic button," Victor said. "Under similar 30 seconds, I would accidental if adjacent that, a NICU squad from Clovis Community had rushed into the country and started moving connected her."

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Acting quickly, the squad told the parents Vida needed to beryllium taken to Valley Children's due to the fact that she was successful captious condition.

Melissa, who had conscionable fixed birth, had to enactment astatine Clovis Community. Victor followed the ambulance with Vida inside, who was taken to Valley Children's NICU - the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Victor learned Vida was going into bosom failure, and Valley Children's wanted to get her connected the ECMO machine.

It's not a cure oregon treatment, but ECMO oftentimes increases the accidental a kid volition survive

"ECMO -- it stands for Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation," says Dr. Nataly Shildt. "A big, fancy connection for fundamentally a beingness enactment modality that's impermanent for patients who person terrible lung, and oregon bosom failure."

Melissa was released from Clovis Community and went consecutive to Valley Children's to spot her baby, not knowing if that would beryllium the past time.

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"It's conscionable this monolithic country with this small babe successful this small bassinet, and you conscionable spot each the doctors, the nurses and everybody truthful diligently moving connected their task truthful quickly," she said. "You know, they're each strangers, we don't cognize who they are, they don't cognize her. But their 1 extremity is to prevention her."

That's precisely what happened.

"We were capable to successfully get her disconnected ECMO 5 days later, and we were capable to get her home," Dr. Shildt said. "She's presently with her family, and she's thriving arsenic a babe should."

Valley Children's ne'er recovered retired wherefore Vida went into bosom failure. Some doctors accidental her bosom conscionable wasn't rather acceptable to function, and the ECMO instrumentality gave it that other clip to commencement moving properly.

But arsenic the Echeverrias clasp Vida successful their arms, they're conscionable grateful for an ECMO squad successful Central California.

"We cognize that she was conscionable excessively sick successful bid to marque it from wherever she was, to beryllium capable to beryllium airlifted determination else," Melissa said.

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