BATON ROUGE — Sydney Sanders has been part of countless deliveries. As a neonatal ICU nurse at Woman’s Hospital, she’s witnessed the full spectrum of emotions inside a delivery room.
But nothing could have prepared her for September 11, 2023, the day her own daughter, Ivy, was born.
‘All About the Bows’
Sydney remembers the moment clearly.
“It was the easiest thing. I had feared delivery for so long, but she was out in less than five minutes,” Sydney said. “One of my good friends who was part of that delivery had my phone to take pictures. I yelled across the room, ‘Put a bow on her head!’ And since then, it has always been all about the bows.”
Those bows became a symbol of Ivy’s journey, shared with thousands who followed the “All About Ivy” Facebook page. From joyful milestones to difficult setbacks, Sydney documented it all. But until now, the full extent of what Ivy faced, and the questions surrounding her care, had not been told publicly.
‘I worried it would backfire on Ivy’
When asked why she’s speaking out now, Sydney admitted she was afraid before. “I always feared not having the right information, or not being able to explain Ivy’s issues in a way people could understand. And I didn’t want that to hurt Ivy’s chances of getting the treatment she needed to survive. If I spoke up, I worried it would backfire on Ivy.”
After several weeks in the NICU after she was born, Ivy went home. She still faced serious heart issues, but for a moment, she was happy, alert, and surrounded by love.
That moment was short-lived. By December 2023, Ivy’s health took a sharp turn.
“I had brought her to the doctor because we thought she was getting closer to needing heart surgery,” Sydney recalled. “The plan was to follow up with cardiology and get an echo the next day. But I just had this feeling something wasn’t right. That night, I brought her to the ER.”
157 days of critical care
Ivy was admitted to Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge with RSV, then transferred to Ochsner in New Orleans.
What followed was 157 days of critical care filled with devastating complications: alleged medical mistakes, brain injury, cardiac arrest, and multiple surgeries.
Sydney fought for transparency, requesting Ivy’s medical records – more than 100,000 pages. She says the documents revealed medication errors, equipment failures, and lapses in protocol. UWK has reviewed many of the medical documents Sydney shared.
“I believe Ivy wasn’t brought in as complex or difficult to treat. Because of mistakes or misdiagnoses, she ended up with more issues than she started with,” Sydney said. “The list is endless and Ivy never had those problems before Ochsner.”
More Medical Mistakes?
As Sydney raised questions, she says she felt watched, resisted, and even evaluated herself. She also claims she was locked out of Ivy’s MyChart medical portal.
When she eventually regained access, she says more alleged mistakes came to light. “A therapist went in to do Ivy’s initial check-off and noticed the ECMO heater was set outside the safe range, which is against Ochsner policy,” Sydney said. “She reported it to the intensivist at the time and got backlash for speaking up. It took courage not only to raise it but also to document it.”
Sydney recalls an April meeting with more than 10 hospital staffers, where she says she wasn’t allowed to bring an attorney.
“We were being followed closely at Ochsner,” Sydney said, adding that things escalated after she refused a tracheostomy. “It wasn’t a simple procedure I was refusing. I was asking for further tests to determine why Ivy needed the trach, but Ochsner wouldn’t do them. They said I was putting Ivy at risk for more complications.”
During this time, Sydney pressed for Ivy to be moved to Texas Children’s Hospital, a national leader in pediatric cardiology. She says both insurance and Texas Children’s had approved the transfer, but Ochsner never signed off.
“Ochsner told me they weren’t refusing to transfer us, that it was insurance. They said they couldn’t force insurance to cover it or force a hospital to accept us. But we already had approval — both medical and insurance clearance. I couldn’t understand why it kept falling through.
“Ochsner said the state required us to be transferred to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. But my thought was: if Ivy had to be transferred, why not to a hospital with more specialties, more experience with her genetic conditions, and a higher patient acuity? Why not Texas?”
Instead, after 157 days, on May 17, Ivy was discharged directly from the ICU and sent home, skipping the standard “step-down” process many hospitals require for complex patients.
“I buckled her into her car seat and walked her out of the ICU into our vehicle,” Sydney said.
Within a week, Ivy was back in the ER in Baton Rouge. Sydney says the PICU was full, meaning Ivy would need to be transferred again to Ochsner.
She refused, even when told the hospital would contact DCFS if she left against medical advice.
“I knew I wasn’t neglecting my child. And going back there, I didn’t see how that was beneficial in any way whatsoever.”
Later that night, approval finally came: Ivy was cleared for Texas Children’s in Houston.
A Miracle and a Loss
“Louisiana just failed us on so many ends. I always said I would have moved to Texas, I would have moved anywhere, for Ivy to get the best care.”
At Texas, doctors determined Ivy wasn’t yet strong enough for surgery. For months, she bounced in and out of PICUs until December 2024, when she was finally ready.
Her 12-hour surgery was grueling, but Ivy survived. After five days, she woke up.
“(Those) days we had with Ivy were the first time I got to feel a little normalcy as a mom,” Sydney said. On Christmas Eve, she went home – laughing, dancing in the snow, and, for the first time, just being a baby.
Then came February 6, 2025.
“We went to Starbucks. My mom and I sat at a picnic table outside and held Ivy. We got ice cream. We went shopping,” Sydney remembered.
Less than 24 hours later, Ivy died. Her official cause of death was circulatory failure.
“I’m honored to be her mom”
For Sydney, the grief is indescribable. But so is her determination.
“Our journey was hard, but I would do it all over again, only harder, if it meant Ivy could still be here,” she said. “All the love she gave, and that people witnessed just being in her presence, was more than enough and worth more than I can put into words.”
Sydney continues to update “All About Ivy” and her blog, The Ivy Branch, connecting with moms and caregivers walking their own difficult paths.
Her message is simple: you belong.
She says Ivy will always be her greatest blessing and her fight continues.
“I’m honored to be her mom.”
Editor’s Note: UWK reached out to Ochsner regarding the concerns raised in our investigation. The hospital has not yet responded.
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