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RIRI — USA
September 19, 2022 Late-onset Mother's GBS Status: Tested negative Gestational Age: 39 weeks, 5 days Age Harmed: 1 month old |
My baby, Laurene “Riri”, was diagnosed with GBS meningitis on 10/22/22. On 10/19/22, at exactly 1 month old, my husband and I found ourselves trying to get doctors and nurses to help us with our baby after we noticed her limp arm, eye switching, constant grunting & body jerking. It took 2 ER visits and 1 visit to her Pediatrician for medical professionals to finally rush us into PICU seeing her vitals were declining. After being intubated, multiple blood work and hooked up to IV lines for fluids, medications & antibiotics, they told us she had what was called late onset GBS Meningitis that caused her to survive strokes and several subclinical seizures. This was crucial because it caused parts of her brain to get injured which limits her normal development. Everything happened in a blink of an eye.
Riri was born a healthy, full-term baby. Up until her 1 month old mark, she was a happy and an easy going baby for me (she is my 4th child and was the easiest one). Our whole world was shaken after the diagnosis, but we weren’t ready for the new reality that was set before us for Laurene’s health journey. We spent 39 days in PICU and the floor before being discharged.
Laurene was sent home with just a NG tube at the time and on so many medications to help control her:
1) Epilepsy (subclinical seizures)
2) Hypothyroidism
3) Diabetes Insipidus
4) Adrenal Insufficiency
5) Cerebral Palsy
Riri is now 16 months old and still faces daily challenges of maintaining her medications and making sure she doesn’t fall ill from any exposure to any germs/bacteria that will lead her into the hospital again due to being medically complex. She has been in & out of the hospital every month since her brain injury at 1 month. As discouraging and mentally/physically exhausting it can be on my family and me, Riri continues to fight for her life daily and we stand tall alongside her journey to healing and restoration. Our faith in God has us believing full heartedly that she will get better with time.
This is more than just a part of Laurene’s life story - this is her testimony of what she’s survived so far and where she is heading in her journey of complete healing. We believe that God has a great purpose for her life and we are honored to be a part of it. We hope to advocate the importance of GBS Meningitis awareness to other parents in the world so they don’t have to experience what we’ve been through and are still enduring.
My baby is a survivor, a warrior and heaven sent. Every day, good or bad; we strive to #FIGHTLIKERIRI
- Mele
Riri was born a healthy, full-term baby. Up until her 1 month old mark, she was a happy and an easy going baby for me (she is my 4th child and was the easiest one). Our whole world was shaken after the diagnosis, but we weren’t ready for the new reality that was set before us for Laurene’s health journey. We spent 39 days in PICU and the floor before being discharged.
Laurene was sent home with just a NG tube at the time and on so many medications to help control her:
1) Epilepsy (subclinical seizures)
2) Hypothyroidism
3) Diabetes Insipidus
4) Adrenal Insufficiency
5) Cerebral Palsy
Riri is now 16 months old and still faces daily challenges of maintaining her medications and making sure she doesn’t fall ill from any exposure to any germs/bacteria that will lead her into the hospital again due to being medically complex. She has been in & out of the hospital every month since her brain injury at 1 month. As discouraging and mentally/physically exhausting it can be on my family and me, Riri continues to fight for her life daily and we stand tall alongside her journey to healing and restoration. Our faith in God has us believing full heartedly that she will get better with time.
This is more than just a part of Laurene’s life story - this is her testimony of what she’s survived so far and where she is heading in her journey of complete healing. We believe that God has a great purpose for her life and we are honored to be a part of it. We hope to advocate the importance of GBS Meningitis awareness to other parents in the world so they don’t have to experience what we’ve been through and are still enduring.
My baby is a survivor, a warrior and heaven sent. Every day, good or bad; we strive to #FIGHTLIKERIRI
- Mele
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.