ECMO (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation)
ECMO is a relatively recent method of providing support for the heart and lungs, usually to babies or young children.The ECMO machine is similar to the bypass machine used for open heart surgery, but intended to provide support for significantly longer periods, often weeks, or on occasions even months.
Extra corporeal means ‘outside the body’. Membrane oxygenation refers to the delivering of oxygen into the blood.
ECMO gave Emma a chance of life when everything looked hopeless, and gave us precious time to spend with her that we will always treasure.
Without this extraordinary therapy Emma would have died at St George’s Hospital as all other avenues of treatment had been exhausted. The chances are that this would have meant we would never have known why she had died.
Myocarditis, the condition of her heart casued by the enterovirus could be diagnosed at post mortem, but it is likely that the Enterovirus would not have been detected once she had died. As any bereaved parent will tell you, knowing exactly what happened to your child is essential in trying to come to terms with it.
ECMO is used as a “bridge to recovery” and as a result Emma’s case is considered, in many ways, to be a failure as ultimately she did not recover. However, we do not see it like this at all. The time we had with Emma at GOSH is more precious to us than I can say. We saw first hand that every possible option was used to try to save her and we both know that in the end the infections were too much for her. We have been spared all the “what ifs” that so often accompany the death of a child and this has helped us immeasurably since she died.
ECMO is hugely expensive to run, largely because it requires two highly specialised nurses 24 hours per day. I am sure that if there were more ECMO units and more ECMO nurses across the country many more children could benefit from this amazing treatment.