KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Editor's Note: The story incorrectly said Addy had her surgery on Monday. The tonsillectomy was on Tuesday, June 6.
A Knoxville family said they were grieving after a simple procedure started a chain of health complications for an 8-year-old girl.
Addy Rudd had her tonsils removed at the East Tennessee Children's Hospital last Tuesday. Her family said she was rushed back to the hospital less than 24 hours later when she began bleeding from her mouth. The family said she was later pronounced brain-dead on Monday, June 12.
The family said Addy had trouble breathing, and removing her tonsils seemed like the best option to alleviate her snoring. The family said the procedure is their deepest regret.
"It's something that I would not wish on my worst enemy. It's a pain you will never understand until you are there. That's a part of you that's no longer going to be around. It's going to be hard to go home without her,” said Deanna Caudill, Addy’s mother.
"Until they can tell me why, I'll never stop asking why,” said Billy Rudd, Addy’s father.
According to her family, Addy Rudd was a happy-go-lucky kid with a passion for fashion. She loved to laugh and was a natural-born athlete.
"She would do her sister's nails. She did my nails," Rudd said. "We couldn't keep her out of the water. I think she learned to swim at 5 years old. She just woke up and just knew how to do it. She loved to swim. She was always the first person in the water. I mean, we literally couldn't keep her out of the water."
Addy had big dreams of becoming a cosmetologist. She planned to fall in love with country music artist Morgan Wallen and eventually get married and live a happy life. These life plans came to a screeching halt after the 8-year-old had her tonsils removed last Tuesday.
Her parents said after surgery at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital last week, she was sent home to recover but the following morning, Addy woke up to take her medicine. Deanna quickly realized something wasn’t right.
"A part of her artery is what started bleeding in her throat, and that's what we don't know — how it happened. Because she wasn't bleeding after surgery excessively. Like, a little bit of bleeding is normal, but she had to get seven units of blood when she got here,” Caudill said.
Caudill said Addy went unconscious and Addy’s stepfather performed CPR until help arrived to take her to the hospital.
"She was so scared at that moment," Caudill said. "We're hoping the autopsy will help show what really happened if there's any way, they can do that because we are all at a loss."
"Hundreds of years of medical experience between all these doctors here and there is still no definite answer of what happened and I just feel like there needs to be some kind of investigation done,” Rudd said.
Now this family is sending a warning to other parents considering this procedure.
"If you've got to go under anesthesia as a child, we should monitor them 24 hours. I think everybody here feels like if she had been here overnight, it would be a different outcome. She'd be coming home with us,” Rudd said.
According to the East Tennessee Children's Hospital, Addy was pronounced legally dead at the hospital on Wednesday. Her family said her body was being preserved by a ventilator so her organs could be donated Thursday night.
"She was so healthy, and everything was perfect. If she is able to go and save another child's family from having to feel the pain we feel, I want to do that,” Caudill said.
The hospital declined to comment on Addy's death.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, children rarely die after this kind of surgery, noting death is usually the result of an underlying health condition.
Since Addy is an organ donor, the donation process will begin Thursday night. Addy's family is welcoming the community to stand outside of the hospital to support Addy during her Donor Walk ceremony. They are asking people to gather next to the window on White Avenue Thursday at 9:30 p.m. The walk begins tonight at 10 p.m.
The public is invited to bring candles, signs, and anything to show support for Addy as she makes her final journey.
Family members said they have set up a GoFundMe for both the mother's and father's side. The Caudill's GoFundMe and the Rudd's GoFundMe are for her parents in an effort to keep their focus on Addy’s transition instead of medical bills.