In the Blink of an Eye

On November 7th 2021 one families life was turned upside down in the blink of an eye. 

Brooke Hollis, her sister Rylee, and her mother Danielle were just doing what they loved on a normal weekend, Barrel Racing.

Barrel racing is a timed event equestrian sport loved by many, including myself. In the event the competitors do a figure eight pattern around three barrels and then a fast dash toward the alley. Fastest time wins.

Since they wouldn’t be competing until later in the night they spent the day watching other competitors make their runs and even did a little shopping at vendor booths. Brooke was joking and laughing, having a good evening. Then it was time for Brooke to go warm up and make her run.

As the night grew colder her mother started packing stuff up with the plan of watching from the warm truck. Before she finished the speakers announced something no equestrian wants to hear, rider down.

A family friend went to check just before Rylee came barreling down the road screaming.

"Momma it’s Brooke."

Brooke had gone into cardiac arrest. As of now, the family still doesn’t have answers as to what caused the sudden event. When her mother arrived on the scene they were already doing CPR. As they were desperately trying to revive Brooke she began to turn blue. She couldn’t breath.

The ambulance finally arrived and EMTs shocked her twice before loading her up and heading to Dothan, Al.

The Doctor began to explain that things were really bad. Brooke had aspirated and her lungs were damaged. He also said she has coded once and asked her parents an unimaginable question.

“If she codes again, do you want us to bring her back?”

This brought me back to the day before I lost my dad. He had heart problems my entire life and was only six months into recovery from open heart surgery when he had the heart attack that took his life. I remember the moment that the doctors asked if we wanted to sign a “do not resuscitate”. I can only imagine what these parents must have gone through being asked such a heart wrenching question over there little girl.

Naturally, they wanted to do everything possible to give their girl a fighting chance.

Brooke needed to go to another hospital, so they started preparing her to go to Children’s in Birmingham via helicopter. Before the transport could take place she had coded again at the Helicopter but was stabilized.

Doctors explained again that Brooke was in really bad shape. An awesome nurse got Brooke a room on the ICU Floor. She still wasn’t doing great, the vent was doing everything it could do for her, but she needed the ECMO Machine.

ECMO stands for Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, also known as extracorporeal life support. It is an extracorporeal technique of providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory support to persons whose heart and lungs are unable to provide an adequate amount of gas exchange or perfusion to sustain life.

 Well, she couldn’t fly out because she wasn’t stable enough and they were running out of options. Finally the Doctor came in with amazing news. Emory would bring their ECMO Machine and do the procedure before taking her back to Atlanta for further treatment. 

The physicians arrived that Sunday Night and started the procedure around midnight. By then the family had been up since Saturday Morning. Her parents were physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted but the procedure was successful.

After some time Brooke came off the ECMO Machine. Her lungs were better but doctors had discovered she had an Anoxic Brain Injury.

An anoxic brain injury isn’t caused by physical trauma. Instead it’s the result of oxygen deprivation that results in the death of brain cells. At some point after the cardiac arrest Brooke had aspirated her own vomit causing her brain to be starved for oxygen for several minutes. 

 Since the accident, Brooke has gone from the ECMO to breathing on her own. She moved from Emory to inpatient rehab at Children’s in Birmingham to being back home doing out patient therapy. Brooke started at a 6 on the JFK Coma Scale and has improved to a 10 but she still has a long way to go.

This family, like any parent, is trying everything possible to help their daughter recover. The next step on their healing journey is hyperbaric oxygen therapy. If you have ever heard of this it was probably in reference to treating The Benz, a diving related issue that occurs when a diver surfaces to quickly. However it has been proven affective in treating injuries and illnesses that require more oxygen to heal, such as an Anoxic Brain injury.

Another avenue this family is hoping to try is stem cell therapy. Unfortunately neither option is covered by insurance. The family has to pay 100% out of pocket and as you can imagine these therapies are expensive. This family is doing everything they can to raise the funds and had the first Hyperbaric appointment on April 28th.

After successful sessions the family went home to pack for the two month stay in New Orleans. As if this family hadn't had enough troubles,  on their way back to New Orleans to continue Brooke’s therapy their van broke down. They now need $770 a week to rent a van so they can make it to New Orleans and have transportation while there. This new expense is on top of what they already have to pay for each of Brooke’s "dives". 

Since the accident our community has come together in support of this family. Right now they need more support than ever. 

To help this local family I am selling Prayers4Brooke shirts. Proceeds go to the Hollis family and Brooke’s medical expenses. You can purchase at the link bellow. 

If you can't purchase or donate at the moment please share this article or the fundraiser page. Let's make Brooke go viral and help her family give her every chance in the world.

Authors Note: As a mom I can tell you that there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for my kids. If you have read my article Life After Loss you know that we recently suffered the loss of a baby who was born with a traumatic birth defect. We would have spared no cost if it meant hearing her cry and watching her grow, so I fully understand what this family is going through. I want to thank my readers for taking the time to read this and I sincerely hope you find it in your heart to support this family.