Golden remains in Children#039;s Hospital
Published 12:00 am Saturday, June 12, 2004
Matthew Golden, 6, remains in stable condition in Children’s Hospital in Birmingham for the third week in a row, where his family maintains a vigil during his recovery.
Golden sustained serious injuries in an automobile accident on Dec. 28 on Ala. Highway 10 W.
In the last five months, he has been home to Greenville a few times. He has also been hospitalized at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Golden was transferred back to Birmingham on May 21 after his neck began to swell and his parents, Jerry and Vicki, were afraid that he would stop breathing.
He was transferred from L.V. Stabler Memorial Hospital back to Children’s Hospital.
On Thursday, Golden was supposed to return home to Greenville, because according to his website, his doctor had done all he could do.
&uot;We were scheduled to come home on Thursday because Matthew’s physician felt like he had done everything he could for Matthew,&uot; the Goldens stated on the site. &uot;We had very difficult discussions with him (the doctor) on Tuesday about &uot;end of life&uot; decisions that would have to be made should Matthew’s heart stop beating. Needless to say, Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning were difficult at best.&uot;
Vicki wrote on Friday that her husband arrived in Birmingham on Wednesday evening to help pack Matthew’s things.
However, about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, Matthew began to have neuro storms again.
This ailment has plagued him for several weeks.
Neuro storms are excess activity in the brain resulting in a &uot;storm&uot; of electrical activity.
This storm then interferes with the brain’s autonomic functions
Matthew’s tongue began to swell and he began biting it and pushing against his teeth and gums.
&uot;By 5:30am he had pushed so hard that four of his teeth and the gum line was almost pushed completely out,&uot; Vicki stated. &uot;We were working so hard to try to keep him from hurting himself but the more we did the more he fought us. We didn’t know if he was in so much pain or if he just wasn’t aware of what he was doing….we pray that it was the latter.&uot;
Vicki said they prayed that their son.
&uot;Our prayers were that God would just give him peace and that if it was time to let go, He would just take him on to Heaven and not let him suffer anymore,&uot; she said.
&uot;I felt like this would be the day that Matthew began eternity with our precious Lord, but God had other plans for Matthew this day.&uot;
She said the doctor ordered another CT scan and decided to tap his shunt to check pressures. If the pressures were too high they were going to take Matthew to surgery and take out his shunt and put an external drain in so that they could control his cranial pressures and decide what type of shunt would better work for Matthew.
During the ordeal, they finally gave Matthew morphine along with his other medications that didn’t have an affect on the storming.
His doctor performed a new procedure at about 2:45 p.m. and by 4 p.m. Matthew was calming down.
&uot;By 4:30 Matthew was resting as peacefully as I have ever seen him rest,&uot; Vicki said. &uot;God has other plans for Matthew and I am anxious to see how he continues to use him. At this point we are praying that the Baclafin works through the weekend. If all goes well, the neuro surgery team will put the baclofen pump in Matthew on Monday or Tuesday.&uot;
Vicki and Jerry again thanked everyone for their continued prayers and support and their belief in God.
&uot;Once again, I have to say how faithful God is and how he has used so many people to encourage us and give us strength to endure these past five months,&uot; she said. &uot;So many of you have prayed from where you are, others have been able to come see us, and others have called or emailed. What a mighty fountain God has provided for us to drink from!&uot;