Taylor Lynn

I wanted to share my story with others, as I´ve read all the heart wrenching stories of kids/adults with this horrible disease, I felt the need to share my story as well.

Taylor is an awesome little girl, funny, smart and very witty, we was so not prepared for what was about to happen.  I went to work on Friday; I recently started as a teacher’s assistance position at a Daycare Center.  The morning started out well, until I got to work.  I noticed Tay´s lip was quivering and she was pale looking.  I took her temp, which was 101.8, so I gave her some Tylenol.  She was acting ok and playing, but still wanted to be close to me.

Nap time came around, she slept for about an hour and a half, was stirring a little bit in her sleep, took her temp again, was 104 even.  I told my boss and co-workers I was going home, if Motrin wouldn’t bring her temp down, I’d take her to the hospital.  She had no other signs of sickness, so we went home. Tay slept most of the day and night, and it wasn’t until the next day, she was showing signs of being sick, vomiting everything she ate or drank and her fevers were not breaking.

Saturday afternoon I drove her to RO Beaumont in Royal Oak, MI, ER where she was admitted for slight dehydration and flu like symptoms.  Well, after 8 hours there, a bag of fluid and some Tylenol, they sent her home, diagnosis was a viral infection. I was a little uneasy with that diagnosis, seeing she was acting no better and still looked horribly sick. 

Sunday she was OK, still giving the Tylenol / Motrin doses every 4 hours, and was a little lethargic, like she just wanted to rest.  No vomiting, just sleepy looking/feeling.

Monday during the day, she was ok, still a little sleepy, fevers were on the ´not so serious´ side, no vomiting.  Monday night, she started with fevers getting a little higher, but nothing more higher than 101 and acting more sleepy, but was playing with her older sisters a little bit, and I thought maybe whatever she ´caught´ was gone away.

How wrong could I have been, and as a Mother, you would think I knew better.

Tuesday early morning, she was sleepy and fevering a little bit, I decided to go to work for a couple of hours, I weighed the “I am a single mom, do I really need another day off of work" syndrome, and left to work.  A few hours later, my oldest daughter called me crying, saying Taylor was not ´waking up´.  I was 10 minutes from home, so I left work immediately.  Nothing could prepare me for what I seen, a limp little blonde, blue eyed girl, lethargic as someone could be.  I called out her name, she opened her eyes, and they were rolling around.  I had my phone in hand, called 911.  The paramedics arrived, not even they could get my little Taylor to respond.  Off to Huron Valley Sinai Hospital we went.  It was only there that I realized how dangerously sick my baby was.  After a few minutes, the doctor rushed over to me saying they believed Taylor may have Meningitis, and to which Children’s Hospital did we want to go to, Detroit or Ann Arbor, I said Ann Arbor.  She was sick enough that she needed to be heliported.   My worst fear as a mother was coming true.  My daughters and I drove to U of M Motts Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor Michigan.

Taylor was diagnosed with Bacterial Meningitis, thankfully not the contagious strain of Bacteria.  She spent 6 days in the ICU, it was then that she woke up.  Never in my wildest dreams did a think one mountain of a germ could do such horrible things to a child, or anyone for that matter.

In total, we spent 25 days at U of M hospital, to which now, Taylor has hearing loss in her left ear, a lazy right eye and some ´balance´ issues to which she is going to therapy 3 days a week.  All can and will be corrected at some point in time, we are just lucky to have her here with us, 4 days after her discharge, we celebrated her 3rd birthday!!!!