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ANNIKA — CANADA Passed away at 4 months, 1 week of age on October 11, 2011 Late-onset Mother's GBS Status: Tested negative Gestational Age: Full-term (c-section) Age Harmed: 4 months |
On her 4 month birthday I took Annika in to get her vaccinations and the nurse proclaimed her to be of "perfect health". I was told that it was normal for some kids to develop fevers and be irritable for a day or two after they get their shots, but for the rest of the afternoon Annika seemed to be totally fine. Later that evening when we were laying in bed we could hear her coughing in her crib so we went in to check on her. I picked her up and she was burning up and was coughing like she wanted to throw up. She did throw up so I called Health Link (a number we have here that gets you hooked up with a nurse right away so you can get any health concerns you may have answered promptly). She wouldn't nurse, she had a fever of 39.1C, and she was whimpering. We were told that this is perfectly normal after vaccinations and not to worry, she should be feeling better in a day or two. We gave her some Tylenol and even loaded her into the car seat to take her to the hospital (we're first time parents and she had never been sick before), but in the car she seemed to settle down so we headed back home.
All night and through the next day she remained ill, would whimper, wouldn't nurse and was quite limp. I consulted several family members and was told that this is normal and to wait it out. I even took her over to my sister-in-law's house and she said that her daughter was like that too, but if she wasn't better by evening maybe I should take her in. At this point my main concern was that she was becoming dehydrated because she hadn't really eaten all day.
When we got home from my sister-in-law's house I was finally able to get some fluids in her but then she started to twitch a bit and her pupils went all weird - one started to dilate while the other shrunk. I immediately put her into her car seat to take her to the health centre. By the time we got there (a 10-15 minute drive) one side of her face started to droop and she was turning grey. The doctors immediately called us an ambulance to go to the Children's Hospital, gave her some fluids, and assessed her as best as they could. The doctor there said that it looked like she had suffered a stroke and kept repeating "I'm so sorry".
In less than 24 hours our baby went from "perfect health" to death's door.
At the Children's Hospital Annika was given antibiotics for pretty much everything until they could narrow down what was causing this illness. After a CT scan, an MRI and extensive other tests they let us know that she had meningitis caused by Group B Strep. That meningitis attacked the arteries leading to her brain and had caused "several" strokes but they did not know how those strokes were going to effect her in the long run. We'd just have to wait and see. While we were "waiting" she also caught a staph infection. And then her blood results came back and her platelet level was at 6. She received a plasma transfusion, a platelet transfusion and a blood transfusion and her platelet level only went up to 12. These things indicated that she was having liver troubles and further tests showed that her liver had probably started to give out about the time she was admitted to the hospital, several days earlier. Then she started to have frequent seizures, some of them lasting over 20 minutes. Then her kidneys started to give out. The doctors sent her for another CT scan and this time instead of some small areas of potential concern they could see the blood flowing as her brain was bleeding from one of the stroke areas.
We were told that they discussed with various specialists if they could do a liver transplant or dialysis to help her blood and liver, and a brain surgery to reduce the pressure of the bleeding on her brain, but obviously she was not a good candidate for any of these treatments. At this point she had GBS meningitis, strokes, severe neurological damage, a staph infection, a failed liver and a failing kidney. We were told that surgery would probably kill her as her blood wasn't clotting. That's when the doctor sat down with us to say that she was very likely going to die. We could continue treatment with a blood clotting agent that could stop the brain hemorrhage (but that often worked too well and causes clots elsewhere in the body, too), we could leave her on "maintenance" and just wait for her to either die or recover, or we could take her off the respirator and get to hold her while she took her last breaths. No one wants to give up on their kids so we did the clotting agent.
After it was given a few hours to work we did another CT scan and while the bleeding had stopped, there was still a LOT of blood on her brain and the pressure of it was visibly pushing apart the different sections of her unfused skull. We were hoping that our prayers would have been answered and that CT scan would show some sort of improvement, but it didn't. It showed us that our baby's brain was swelling to the point that it was going to kill her. We were again presented with the options of leaving her on the respirator and waiting to see what happens or letting her pass in a controlled manner. This time we chose the latter. As much as we held out hope that she would have gotten better, it was not going to happen. And this way we would at least get to do it in a controlled manner and we would get to hold our baby one last time before she was gone forever. When we took her off the respirator she continued to breathe on her own for 13 hours while we held her close. Even though her other organs had called it quits already, her heart was strong and held out as long as it could. She died on October 11, 2011 at 4 months and 1 week old.
From all the research I've done, my conclusion is that it is exceptionally rare for a 4 month old to get GBS and to get so sick so fast from it. The doctors have no answers to how she might have gotten it or why it attacked so viciously.
— Tanya Wigmore, AB, Canada
All night and through the next day she remained ill, would whimper, wouldn't nurse and was quite limp. I consulted several family members and was told that this is normal and to wait it out. I even took her over to my sister-in-law's house and she said that her daughter was like that too, but if she wasn't better by evening maybe I should take her in. At this point my main concern was that she was becoming dehydrated because she hadn't really eaten all day.
When we got home from my sister-in-law's house I was finally able to get some fluids in her but then she started to twitch a bit and her pupils went all weird - one started to dilate while the other shrunk. I immediately put her into her car seat to take her to the health centre. By the time we got there (a 10-15 minute drive) one side of her face started to droop and she was turning grey. The doctors immediately called us an ambulance to go to the Children's Hospital, gave her some fluids, and assessed her as best as they could. The doctor there said that it looked like she had suffered a stroke and kept repeating "I'm so sorry".
In less than 24 hours our baby went from "perfect health" to death's door.
At the Children's Hospital Annika was given antibiotics for pretty much everything until they could narrow down what was causing this illness. After a CT scan, an MRI and extensive other tests they let us know that she had meningitis caused by Group B Strep. That meningitis attacked the arteries leading to her brain and had caused "several" strokes but they did not know how those strokes were going to effect her in the long run. We'd just have to wait and see. While we were "waiting" she also caught a staph infection. And then her blood results came back and her platelet level was at 6. She received a plasma transfusion, a platelet transfusion and a blood transfusion and her platelet level only went up to 12. These things indicated that she was having liver troubles and further tests showed that her liver had probably started to give out about the time she was admitted to the hospital, several days earlier. Then she started to have frequent seizures, some of them lasting over 20 minutes. Then her kidneys started to give out. The doctors sent her for another CT scan and this time instead of some small areas of potential concern they could see the blood flowing as her brain was bleeding from one of the stroke areas.
We were told that they discussed with various specialists if they could do a liver transplant or dialysis to help her blood and liver, and a brain surgery to reduce the pressure of the bleeding on her brain, but obviously she was not a good candidate for any of these treatments. At this point she had GBS meningitis, strokes, severe neurological damage, a staph infection, a failed liver and a failing kidney. We were told that surgery would probably kill her as her blood wasn't clotting. That's when the doctor sat down with us to say that she was very likely going to die. We could continue treatment with a blood clotting agent that could stop the brain hemorrhage (but that often worked too well and causes clots elsewhere in the body, too), we could leave her on "maintenance" and just wait for her to either die or recover, or we could take her off the respirator and get to hold her while she took her last breaths. No one wants to give up on their kids so we did the clotting agent.
After it was given a few hours to work we did another CT scan and while the bleeding had stopped, there was still a LOT of blood on her brain and the pressure of it was visibly pushing apart the different sections of her unfused skull. We were hoping that our prayers would have been answered and that CT scan would show some sort of improvement, but it didn't. It showed us that our baby's brain was swelling to the point that it was going to kill her. We were again presented with the options of leaving her on the respirator and waiting to see what happens or letting her pass in a controlled manner. This time we chose the latter. As much as we held out hope that she would have gotten better, it was not going to happen. And this way we would at least get to do it in a controlled manner and we would get to hold our baby one last time before she was gone forever. When we took her off the respirator she continued to breathe on her own for 13 hours while we held her close. Even though her other organs had called it quits already, her heart was strong and held out as long as it could. She died on October 11, 2011 at 4 months and 1 week old.
From all the research I've done, my conclusion is that it is exceptionally rare for a 4 month old to get GBS and to get so sick so fast from it. The doctors have no answers to how she might have gotten it or why it attacked so viciously.
— Tanya Wigmore, AB, Canada
To learn more about Perinatal & GBS Misconceptions, click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of Preterm Labor, click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of GBS Infection, click HERE.
To learn more about Why Membranes Should NOT Be Stripped, click HERE.
To learn more about How to Help Protect Your Baby from Group B Strep (GBS), click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of Preterm Labor, click HERE.
To learn more about the Signs & Symptoms of GBS Infection, click HERE.
To learn more about Why Membranes Should NOT Be Stripped, click HERE.
To learn more about How to Help Protect Your Baby from Group B Strep (GBS), click HERE.