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Katy's story — Marlo Matz |
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About 2 1/2 weeks before Katy was due, I started feeling crummy... Hi! How surprised I was to find out that my baby and I haven't been the only ones to have been affected by GBS. Katy was born in Nov. 1993. After a bumpy start to the pregnancy, everything progressed normally. Then, about 2 & 1/2 weeks before Katy was due, I started feeling crummy. I thought I felt bad because I was getting ready to deliver. What I didn't know was that my membranes had leaked 2 days earlier and had sealed back up. I then went into labor, went into the hospital and they did all of the routine stuff, including taking my temperature. They discovered that I had a temp of 102. After a 5 hour labor (and Katy's heart rate dropping to 50 for 2 minutes), I delivered Katy. They took her temp and she had one also. Then they took some blood--her white cell count was 78,000. The doctors told me that she could have either meningitis or strep. Knowing what meningitis was and not exactly what strep was, I prayed it would be strep. Her pediatrician started her on I/V antibiotics before any of the tests came back. Well, I got my wish, then found out exactly what GBS was. (I learned a valuable lesson: Be careful what you wish for.) I am happy to tell you that Katy has had absolutely no lingering affects of GBS, except for a propensity toward upper respitory infections. She stayed in the hospital for 19 heart-wrenching days. She responded well to treatment--no doubt in part to the doctors' early intervention. Also, I was able to nurse Katy the whole time she was in the hospital, and I believe that also added to her recovery. Today, Katy is a happy, healthy 9 year old, who loves singing and dancing and acting. Thank you so much for having so much information out there about GBS. When it happened to us, I had no idea what it was or that anyone else was affected by it. Thanks again, Marlo Matz (Katy's mom)
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