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Brennen Lott

Brennen Lott, platelet recipient

Story written by Tiffany Lott, Brennen Lott’s mother; New Hartford, N.Y.

Until May of 2007, I didn't really think or feel much about our blood supply. My husband and I have always (thankfully) been healthy and we have two healthy kids. I was a social worker, on the front line and in administration for many years prior to leaving my career to have children. I consider myself a well-educated, informed and compassionate person. I want to help people. I feel it is why I'm here.

But, I had never given blood. There was always an excuse. And anyway, I thought there must be enough for anyone who is in need. I personally didn't know anyone who has needed it. And I guess in my mind I thought 'someone else is giving'.

My life and the way I live my life drastically and forever changed in early May 2007 when my four year old, healthy little boy contracted a vicious form of strep pneumonia. The fever started early on a Friday morning. We were at the pediatrician's office Friday afternoon and they determined it was just a virus. Saturday the fever persisted. Sunday a cough started with difficulty breathing, so we were back at the pediatrician's office that afternoon. Again, they determined the cause was a virus that will take its course.

By Monday at 9:00 a.m. my little boy was in respiratory failure. Thanks to the good judgment of our pediatrician, he was taken by ambulance to SUNY Medical Center in Syracuse so they could insert a chest tube. He was admitted into the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU). He was on the bpap machine, a step down from a respirator for about 12-24 hours. With antibiotics his lungs and breathing started to slowly recover. The docs were impressed with this since nearly his entire right lung, part of his left lung and the sack surrounding his right lung were all filled with the strep.

On Tuesday evening something else was going on. The antibiotic that is processed by the kidneys was at an incredibly high level in his blood and he had stopped urinating. My husband noticed little red dots all over his torso. The strep had gotten into his blood and as a result of his body's strong autoimmune response, his kidneys completely failed.

On Wednesday a pediatric catheter had to be surgically placed in his abdomen to perform dialysis. Fluid pumped into his swollen body in hopes that through osmosis more would come out when they drained his abdomen.

My husband had just left to come back to New Hartford to be with our daughter who was two at the time. I was sitting next to my son's bed in the ICU. I looked at his face and he was still struggling to breathe. It looked as if his lips had disappeared into his face. They were the color of his flesh. I walked up to the nurse’s desk and told them about it. They said it was due to a low red blood cell count. I had no idea the meaning of this. Some time later, a resident leaned across my son's bed passing me a piece of paper and said, "You need to sign this release so Brennen can have a blood transfusion". I froze. My heart broke once again. I was flustered. "He's anemic," the resident said. I quickly asked, "Can't you give him high doses of iron?" "No," the resident replied. "He will not survive without red blood cells. Iron supplements take weeks to have the effect necessary."

Of course I signed the release immediately. I walked away in a daze to call my husband as I thought "this was not happening to my little fellow who, less than a week ago, was running, laughing, playing – and healthy."

As the week progressed, Brennan had about three more blood transfusions. I lost track of the count because his story didn't end there.

By Friday it was clear the pediatric catheter in his abdomen was not working. They were pumping fluid in, but not getting enough out. He hadn't urinated in a week now so he was full of fluid. He was in horrible pain. His lungs were still full. We'd pump the fluid in and then we'd have to roll him around, sit him up, push his belly because his body wasn't sending that fluid back out through the pediatric catheter. He hadn't urinated in a week now. He was FULL of fluid. He had not had food or drink in a week and he was begging for juice. And he needed another surgery to put in a larger chest tube, to scrape the sack surrounding his lung, reposition the pediatric catheter and insert a hemo-catheter in his jugular vein to do hemodialysis in his neck immediately. It was life or death....again.

Then the moment came that TRULY changed the way I feel about blood donation - about my responsibility.

A nurse that I had not yet met came to Brennen's bedside. She looked at the nurse that was standing next to me. She said, "The surgeon won't do the surgery until he gets platelets. His count is so low. And, there's a national shortage of his type. I can't find any. Give me some time." And she walked away. His kidneys were destroying his red blood cells and his platelets: they were 'shaving them off'. His count was so low the nurse told me if we tried to brush his teeth, he would have bled out through his gums. It sounds like a T.V. drama, but it's the way it happened. "Unbelievable," I thought. I looked at Brennen's nurse and said, "That was a joke, right?" WHY wouldn't there be platelets for a little boy who is going to die unless he has this surgery?

Obviously, it was not a joke.

Platelets were found got the transfusion and he had the surgery that allowed him to have dialysis successfully through the jugular vein in his neck. He was transferred to the pediatric hematology/ oncology floor for another two weeks, and ultimately, he was in the hospital nearly a month. It was truly a life altering experience for all of us - on many levels.

I will, as long as I am physically able, give blood every 56 days. And, I am dedicated to recruiting blood donors at every opportunity. I have recruited several friends already, but I won't stop there. The thought of another mother sitting next to her child literally struggling to live, being told "we can't find his type" brings me to tears. I can't explain, it just goes right to my core. It can be anyone at any time. No one can say "something like that can't happen to me". I can testify to that. And, we all need to do our part to help each other. Simply help each other.

My son is now healthy. It's as though none of this ever happened. His lungs and kidneys made a full recovery. He doesn't need to see his pediatric nephrologist again, just our pediatrician for regular check-ups. I thought our normal life was gone forever. And it may have been if not for people who give whole blood, Double Red and platelet donations.

Brennen is a fabulous, sweet, kind, smart little fellow. He understands what health is. He's only five years old now and thankfully he is still here with us to help make the world a better place. And, I think he will.