Mildred Rose "Molly" Barcalow
Mildred Rose "Molly" Barcalow was born full term on August 23, 2000. She was the perfectly healthy completion to our little family. Our son was 4 and had begged for a baby sister. By the time Molly was 2 weeks old it was becoming apparent she was not perfectly healthy. She had a large hemangioma splattered over her left ear and an even larger splattering on the back of her neck. She looked like she had a bloody nose and had been playing in Mommy's lipstick. We were sent to a dermatologist, told it was a hemangioma and not to worry.
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The not worrying lasted only a few weeks. At 2 months Molly was admitted to Fairfax Hospital for sever strider, put on Prednisolone, and later discharged with an appointment to see an ENT. The ENT determined that Molly had a subglottic hemangioma blocking 50% of her airway. The ENT wanted to do a tracheostomy and wait 4 years for the hemangioma to go away on its own. This seemed barbaric! With today's technology we were supposed to just wait 4 years.
We found a new ENT at Children's National Medical Center who was more knowledgeable in subglottic hemangioma and the use of a CO2 laser. Molly was trached on December 13, 2000 and after 4 surgeries with the CO2 laser, 9 months of sleepless nights of suctioning, countless stares from strangers, weighing in at only 17 pounds, Molly was trach free on August 17, 2001. Days before her first birthday!
The first year was a nightmare, but a lifetime ago. Today Molly is almost 4. She does everything a 3 1/2 year old should. Her speech is perfectly clear and developmentally on target. She loves to go swimming, play in the sandbox, and fight with her big brother. The only negative effect of her 10 trips to the OR is her fear of band-aids. Yes, she screams if you even suggest putting a band-aid on her.
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