Nickels for Knox: premature baby fights for life

Posted 3/5/14

On Friday, March 14, a fundraiser for Knox Pugh will take place at the threeway stop next to the Ford Dealership in Quitman. Knox is the son of Jessica and Kyle Pugh, both employees of the Quitman Independent School District.

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Nickels for Knox: premature baby fights for life

Posted

On Friday, March 14, a fundraiser for Knox Pugh will take place at the threeway stop next to the Ford Dealership in Quitman. Knox is the son of Jessica and Kyle Pugh, both employees of the Quitman Independent School District. The following is an account of the Pughs' extraordinary efforts to save their son, who was born prematurely at 24 weeks and two days.

In Easter 2013, Kyle and Jessica announced to family and close friends that they were expecting, according to Lesa Bailey, friend of the family and PEIMS coordinator for QISD.

Soon, they learned that they were expecting identical twin boys. They were both scared and excited by this news, Bailey said. Kyle and Jessica had already picked out one name a few years ago -- Liam Withers Pugh. It didn't take long though for Jessica to pick out another name. Jessica, a high school English teacher, was sitting in her classroom one day during her conference period. Then it came to her: Knox Leldon Pugh.

"Two strong names for their strong boys," Bailey said.

Since she had twins, she was considered high risk. During their monthly appointments in Frisco, doctors searched for signs of TTTS (twin to twin transfusion syndrome); this is when the babies are in one placenta and share blood vessels. There is a "donor baby" and a "recipient;" the recipient receives more blood and nutrients, and the donor doesn't get enough. Too much or too little blood could result in cardiac failure, Bailey said.

One late night in July, Kyle, a math teacher at the junior high school, was on his way home from a Rangers game. Jessica had been told by her doctor to monitor her blood pressure three times a day, since it started getting high once she became pregnant, Bailey said. That night, it was dangerously high -- around 200s/100s. They raced to the ER, where they were able to get it lowered. The next day they headed to Frisco with their bags packed. Her doctor told them she would be admitted to the hospital for further monitoring.

This hospital visit was the beginning of the Pugh's rollercoaster ride, Bailey said. 20 weeks into Jessica's pregnancy, the Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist took a sonogram. It was determined that she did, in fact, have TTTS and Liam was struggling already. He was three weeks behind Knox in terms of growth progress.

The couple was told they needed to go to Denver for a laser procedure to separate the shared blood vessels in the placenta, Bailey said. Before they left, Jessica had an amniocentesis reduction. In this process, doctors take amniotic fluid from the healthier baby (Knox). It prevents preterm labor and helps stabilize the pregnancy. They were also told that she needed a cervical cerclage (sewing up the cervix during pregnancy) since her cervix was shortening. more scans and tests done to determine if she even qualified for the procedure. They were told they did qualify, and that they got there just in time. If they waited any longer they would have lost their boys within the week.

The doctors told them the procedure would be done to save Knox's life, and that Liam had a small chance of survival. Jessica said that was all she needed to hear: that her boys had a chance. After the procedure, the doctor came to check on the twins.

That's when they heard it. Jessica remembers it was music to their ears -- two heart beats. They stayed in Denver for follow up exams and then were sent home.

Once they returned home, Jessica started weekly doctors' visits with the MFM. On August 21, 2013 they headed to Plano for their second weekly visit. They checked on Liam first for a heartbeat.

Jessica said she will never forget the words she heard next.

"I'm sorryhellip; Baby A has passed. Let me go get the doctor."

Phone calls were made to family before and during their drive to St. Paul's Hospital in Dallas. "The next three days were a blur," Jessica said. They were given two options at the hospital: Deliver now and hope doctors could insert a breathing tube in Knox, or take steroids for a couple of days to help Knox's lungs grow before delivering.

Kyle and Jessica decided against the second option, because

Knox was already showing abnormal blood flow in his umbilical cord and they could lose him at any moment. They chose to deliver. The neonatologist gave very little hope that Knox would survive the delivery. Kyle and Jessica prayed with parents. They didn't know what to do.

"Do they try and save this little person and be selfish, or let him go?" Bailey said.

It was the hardest decision of their lives, but they knew in their hearts that they would never give up on saving their children. Liam was their first born, sleeping at 7:35 p.m. His little brother, Knox, was born at 7:37 p.m. after only 24 weeks and two days of gestation.

It has been over six months since the Pughs brought their boys into the world, Bailey said. They laid Liam to rest a couple of weeks after he was born sleeping. Knox is still in the hospital.

He was transferred to Children's Medical Center of Dallas for specialty care. Knox has severe chronic lung disease, also known as BPD, and because of this he recently got a tracheostomy. Knox has had numerous blood transfusions and rounds of steroids to help fight infections and to help with the healing of his lungs. He had eye surgery to help with his ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) to prevent him from going blind. Kyle and Jessica were told that while Knox was in the womb, something had caused brain damage. After he was born, he also suffered from grade 3 and 4 brain bleeds. He will have an MRI to get a better picture of his brain and the extent of the damage.

Jessica said she believed that Liam came into their lives to save his little brother. Liam made the ultimate sacrifice; he held on long enough for Knox to have a fighting chance, Jessica said. They hope their story will help raise awareness for prematurity, and will help families in similar situations to keep their hope and faith.

A fund has been set up at City National Bank in Quitman for donations under the name "Nickels for Knox." All proceeds go to the Pugh family. If you would like more information about how you can help the Pughs, contact Lesa Bailey at 903-763-5000 Ext. 133, or by email at .