Birthday January 28, 2003
Hi, I am Jill and I
wanted to tell you all about my son, David.
David is a survivor of H Influenza
type F Bacterial Meningitis.
I've been told that it is nearly
unheard of for a child to contract this type.
David became ill at 15mo 34 inches long
and 33 lbs. Big and strong the size of a 3 year old.
He had been fussy all the night before
and in the morning of April 23rd 2004 he was ok and did the same thing we do
every morning. Get up and have breakfast.
He didn't want to eat so I gave him a
bottle and put him to sleep because he was fussy and I figured he was tired
from the night before.
He woke up 1 1/2 hours later with a
fever. He threw up a very little bit so I figured he had the flu. We sat on
the chair and I gave him sips of water and he would fall back asleep. He
threw up a little bit about 6 times throughout the day becoming more
lethargic each time. He was uncomfortable and was arching his back a little.
Eventually about 4:30pm my other 2 boys
would run by and he didn't stir.
I laid him down next to my husband on
our bed and went to call the doctor. He had tubes for reoccurring ear
infections the month before and his behavior didn't sit well with me. The
advice nurse told ,e that there was a possibility he could have an infection
from the tubes and that was enough for me to take him to the doc.
He was like dead weight lifting him
into the car seat and we raced to make our appointment. we arrived 5 minutes
after the office closed but by the Grace of God his Pedi doctor was still
there.
He had difficulty rousing him but he
still thought it was simply dehydration from the flu. He knew I was worried
so he sent me to the main hospital for fluids.
I went to lift him from his stroller to
put him on the table for the iv when David had a grand mal seizure in my
arms. He was comatose already by that point.
I called my husband and he raced over.
His fever was already coming down at
that point and he had so much bacteria in his body at that point the fluid
from the tap was completely cloudy. He had a few seizures before his
transport to the specialty hospital and seized all night after until the
morning when he stopped breathing on his own and had to be intubated.
My poor little baby was wheeled down for
a ct scan later that day. The Pedi doctor came to the room and told us our
baby had dolls eyes which are common in children with damage to the middle
brain. Which usually means they are brain dead.
We were all devastated. We were told he
would be gone in a day or two. My in-laws made funeral arrangements.
Later that night the neurologist came
in and told up that he was defiantly showing signs of brain activity but
there would be no way to find out how much and he may die tomorrow.
He went over the cat scan with us and
it was truly devastating.
Damage to the frontal lobes some along
the sides. The entire back of his brain was damaged. We were told he would
most likely die.
David showed them what a strong little
fighter he is. He held on.
Almost 2 weeks of being in a coma.
Little by little David began to show function. We knew right away he was
completely blind.
He was showing some response to our
voices. When he was almost fully awake he stated crying and did not stop
unless he was drugged on morphine for 2 days straight.
Once again we were told... he may never
fully awake.....
once again David showed them....
He cried and cried and after he pulled
the feeding tubes out 3 times he finally got to eat some soy yogurt... he
became quiet..
We were transferred 2 hours later to the
less critical area of the hospital. Still quiet....
David and I were placed in our room. I
had just said good night to my husband on the phone when... in a soft little
voice it all came back... "Da da Da da" I rushed to the crib and called my
husband
He cried and called our family on 3
way. They all heard little David talk. He started playing peek a boo which
was weird because he was blind. We played patty cake for hours till he fell
asleep.
I was so happy! Then the withdrawals
started and we were sent home with meds.
David was completely blind for 2 weeks.
David could not walk and had weakness on his left side of his body.
First he crawled, then he began to see
fuzzy objects Same day he started to see he started to walk again. We had
pizza to celebrate!
We were told by several Doctors that
because of the damage THERE WAS NO HOPE OF ANY VISION what so ever.
I had to prove to his Pedi and several
others that he was regaining sight.
He blew away the neurologist that said
he would never be fully conscious or if he came out of it he would never
talk or communicate.
Here we are July 19th almost 18 months
old. David has at the very least sight in the left field of vision in
both eyes and we were told by a Pedi specialist for neuro kids that he is
developmentally normal for a child 13 to 18 months. So far.
So far so good. We are taking it one
day at a time.
I wanted to share our story and send
prayers to everyone.
