Benefit for Miracle Maggie
Written by Emily Luibrand
My almost two year old daughter calls out “Mama?” as I slip into my bedroom for a few moments of solitude. My heart melts as I hear those words, words I was told would never escape those precious lips. You see, my daughter didn’t come into this world with a furious cry that let my heart know that all was well. My daughter came into this world in complete silence, a silence that grew louder as the doctors worked hard to regain a heartbeat. After nineteen long minutes, God allowed my daughter to return to this world. I believe that Magdalaina Ilene Luibrand was truly born the moment her heart started beating again on March 15th 2010.
From that moment on, we have received many dire predictions for Maggie. We were never offered the one thing that we needed…hope. She was never supposed to make it home. We brought her home after 5 weeks in the NICU at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. We were told she would never have any “quality of life”. Maggie is one of the happiest kids I have ever seen, with the greatest giggle you have ever heard. She was never going to be capable of eating, talking, walking and all those activities that we take for granted everyday. She can eat and drink without her feeding tube now. She babbles endlessly now while inserting words like “more”, “hugs”, “luv you”, “good girl” “Mommy”, “Daddy” and “drink”. A lot of physical motor skills seem to be harder for her than most kids...but she is always improving, always trying...and those big blue eyes that know exactly what I'm saying never cease to amaze me! How I love to watch this bright, beautiful, bubbly little girl grow up! A little girl that laughs at her Daddy who makes some of the silliest noises!
A little girl that wakes up cuddly and gives her Mama so many kisses that I honestly lose count! A little girl that puts her arms up to help us get her shirt on and then she grins and giggles when we tell what a big helper she is! A little girl that looks for her Daddy and says “Da da?” My heart gets so overwhelmed with happiness and thanksgiving when I see her “quality of life” that our God has given her!
Maggie’s journey has been a tough one. At only five hours old, she started Cold Therapy to help stop further brain damage from occurring. Maggie’s first EEG showed no brain activity, her second EEG at 5 weeks old showed very little brain activity and what activity they did see was incredibly abnormal. Maggie also developed a very rare condition called Subcutaneous Fat Necrosis were 80% of her fat mass died. When this happened, the areas on Maggie’s body that were affected became hard like concrete causing Maggie to be in pain every time she was moved. Subsequently, she developed
Hypercalcemia. This condition could cause Maggie’s calcium levels to skyrocket and if they got too high it would cause her heart to stop. We were constantly monitoring her levels as they seemed to always remain just below the danger point. During this time, we were looking into Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy treatments. We were hearing some amazing stories of how it has helped children and adults with brain injuries.
“Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy or HBOT is a method of administering pure oxygen at greater than atmospheric pressure to a patient in order to improve or correct conditions. By providing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber we are able to deliver 10-15 times more oxygen then if delivered at sea level or at normal atmospheric levels….“Nature has dictated that healing cannot take place without appropriate oxygen levels in the body’s tissues. In many cases, such as those involving circulatory problems, Strokes, anoxic brain injury, and near drowning just to name a few, adequate oxygen cannot reach the damaged area and therefore the body’s natural healing process fails to function properly.”
“Oxygen given with increased pressure can correct many serious health problems. To provide this increased pressure one must be within a pressurized room, a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber. Oxygen, given at normal atmospheric pressure is insufficient to raise tissue oxygen levels. The answer is to deliver oxygen with a slight increase in pressure with a chamber to raise the oxygen tension above the normal red blood cell saturation.”
“Blood is made up of three main components: white cells that fight infection, red blood cells that carry oxygen, and plasma, the fluid that carries both kinds of cells throughout the body. Under normal circumstances, only the red blood cells carry oxygen. However, because HBOT forces oxygen into the body under pressure, Oxygen dissolves into all of the body’s fluids, including the plasma, the Lymph, the cerebrospinal fluids surrounding the brain and spinal cord. These fluids can carry the extra oxygen even to areas where circulation is poor or blocked, either by trickling past the blockages or by seeping into the affected area. This extra oxygen helps in the healing process and enhances the white blood cells’ ability to fight infection. It can promote the development of New Capillaries, the tiny blood vessels that connect arteries to veins. It also helps the body build new connective tissue. In addition, HBOT helps the organs function in a normal manner.” Reprinted with permission from www.hbot4u.com
So when Maggie was just nine weeks old we made the long drive to San Bernardino California to start her first round of HBOT treatments. I was amazed at the results! 
After just one treatment Maggie stopped throwing up at every feeding. After the second treatment, her tremors stopped. After the third treatment, she drank 3.5 oz from a bottle for the first time! She only needed the feeding tube now for supplemental feedings at night. We stayed for 16 treatments. When we got home Maggie continued to show progress in all areas except for the fact that her skull size never changed. We were told that the reason that Maggie’s skull wasn’t growing was due to the fact that her brain wasn’t growing. This can be a problem that occurs after a serious brain injury in young children. We were told that there is no treatment for this problem. So naturally, after having seen the amazing results with HBOT, I called the founder of Rapid Recovery Hyperbarics to find out if she knew of any treatments for this particular problem. We decided that we would once again head for California, this time for 39 treatments, this time in hopes that Maggie’s brain would grow and increase the size of her tiny skull.
We still have concerns about her brain being stunted due to the brain injury at birth. Her skull size has changed very little since we left California over a year ago and this means that her brain has not grown enough either. Our main concern is that if her skull starts to permanently fuse and her brain continues its slow growth but eventually reaches its limit of space in the small skull. The consequences would be more brain damage as the brain will not stop growing and it will eventually start to compress itself causing further brain damage. So the only thing we can do to help her now is to do more HBOT treatments and pray that her skull and brain would grow while her skull is still able to grow. HBOT treatments can help with developmental problems as well. In combination with Maggie’s HBOT treatments we are also doing Craniosacral Massage therapy twice a week at Active Life Massage in Grand Forks along with Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapies at Little Miracles two to three times a week to help her catch up developmentally. What truly makes even the most difficult experiences with Maggie bearable is faith that God has an intention for her life. He gave her strengths, and I am able to see those now amid and beyond the challenges with which she was born. She has a purpose, and I cling to it knowing that she was intended for greatness and a higher calling. This is what enables me to see her future as bright and beautiful. I can’t wait to see what she will be able to accomplish some day. Maggie’s limitations are not larger than His plan for her life!
We are asking for the help of our community, friends, and family. We have had to pay for all of these HBOT treatments out of pocket since they are not covered by insurance. We are trying to raise enough funds so that Maggie can get one more much needed round of HBOT treatments before she turns two. A fundraiser is being held at the Cavalier Community Center on March 11th, 2012 from 11am - 2 pm. There will be a baked potato bar, salads and desserts. There will also be a bake sale and auction. All proceeds will go directly to pay for medical bills and HBOT treatments. Donations can be made for auction items by calling Janine Moris at 701- 886-7647. Monetary donations can be made out to the Cavalier Baptist Deacons Fund and sent to the Cavalier Baptist Church, 201 Division Avenue South Cavalier, ND 58220
Please come join use for an afternoon of fun! And thank you to all who have already supported us! We have been so humbled by your generosity!
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