Update: Daughter of BYU assistant coach Reno Mahe losing fight for life; family awaits ‘peaceful passing’

Elsie Mahe. Photo courtesy: Facebook

LEHI, Utah, Nov. 29, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — One week after her accidental choking by a mini-blind cord, the 3-year-old daughter of Reno Mahe — BYU running backs coach and former NFL player —  is losing her fight for her life, according to a Facebook post from her mother.

Mahe’s wife, Sunny, posted on Facebook Tuesday:

“We are awaiting the final exam for the doctors to declare official neurological death. It will be sometime early this evening.”

The accident occurred in the family’s home, when the blind cord cut off Elsie’s air supply for an unknown amount of time. Sunny Mahe performed CPR and called medics who rushed Elsie to Primary Children’s Hospital for assessment and care. The toddler has remained there ever since.

Sunny Mahe posted to the Mahe Update Facebook page, which has 8,451 followers, at approximately noon Tuesday. The post has a strong element of faith. Reno and Sunny Mahe and their eight children are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The post reads in full:

“Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

“My brother showed me this scripture this week and it has brought me additional peace and different perspective. It has been quite a roller coaster awaiting Elsie’s transition, but she hasn’t finished showing us miracles.

“Sunday morning, before I posted my previous update, the doctors gave Elsie a breathing test. She was still breathing over the ventilator, so they wanted to test out how she would do on her own. They turned back the machine to more of a standby mode and she breathed on her own for about 30 minutes. Then, they felt like they saw some seizure activity, so they turned the ventilator back on and she was no longer taking breaths of her own.

“This was the steady decline I mentioned and the eventual path to this decline would be neurological death, or brain death. For us, this would mean we would be spared the decision of removing support and waiting for her heart to stop or cutting her throat to put in a tracheotomy and taking her home to die of a contracted illness – both of which likely would result in her no longer being a candidate for organ donation.

“However, sometime in the afternoon, she began again taking spontaneous breaths. When we spoke to the doctors Sunday evening, they indicated that once the swelling in the brain stops, it is very unlikely to restart. So they felt that most likely Elsie had leveled out and would not decline any further.

“I was simply broken by this news and the options that it left for us. I prayed for understanding since it seemed that we had been given clear direction and then that was taken away.

“But Elsie was not through showing us miracles. At 8:00 yesterday morning, the doctors told us that they believed she had another seizure and was again no longer breathing over the ventilator. Reno and I wept with gratitude to our Heavenly Father that Elsie would be granted a peaceful passing and would be able to save lives through her physical body still.

“As we considered the experience of her miraculous breathing and decline, we cannot help but wonder if someone else’s horrible accident has not happened yet and Elsie was holding on to wait for them.

“We are awaiting the final exam for the doctors to declare official neurological death. It will be sometime early this evening.

“We continue to be overwhelmed and astonished by the reach that our little Elsie’s story has achieved. We love the Lord and His plan and we are forever changed by her short, wonderful little life. We grieve the loss of daily interaction with her, but we know that a glorious reunion awaits and we long for that joyful day.

“Thank you to everyone who has loved us, prayed for us, mourned with us and continues to support us. We love you all and we hope to someday catch up on all of the heartfelt messages that have given us strength. We have seen so many amazing examples of you who are “willing to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort”. Thank you for your wonderful examples of charity and love.”

The Facebook page also has shared information on what doctors initially found. Elsie was sedated, and a ventilator helped her breathe. Doctors found no swelling or blood on the brain, but family members were warned that could change. The toddler had no broken bones. Her period of oxygen deprivation is the cause of her critical injuries.

A later post revealed that Elsie was breathing on her own, and had responded to a finger pinch, but doctors had warned that it was still too early to know the child’s prognosis.

A GoFundMe page was created to support the family, with $57,740 of a $65,000 goal raised in just six days, as of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Reno Mahe, who both attended and played for BYU, spent five seasons in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles and played in Super Bowl XXXIX as a member of the 2004 NFC Championship team.

1 COMMENT

  1. My heart is aching for this sweet family. And my prayers are with her and the family at this time of transitioning. We as a family have been through this. And turning of the life support is a horrible feeling i hope that the angels come to take her.before they have to make that final goodbye. Its not easy. Thank goodness for our beliefs that we will be with them again.

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