Syliva's Story   — Susan Mercy, MI, USA

My little sister Sylvia was born February 16, 1973. She was a healthy little gal until she was about 3 weeks old. My mom noticed she wasn't nursing well and was fussy so she got her in to the pediatrician. His loving comment to her--"Well, obviously this baby is starving." Yea, really nice. They admitted Sylvia to the hospital and determined that she had an infection but, back then, you didn't get an antibiotic until they cultured you to find out what bug was causing the illness. Well, a newborn can't survive 48 hrs with no antibiotic, waiting for bugs to grow in a petri dish. I remember my parents taking me to see her because she was very sick. She was in an isolette with all sorts of wires and tubes. She arrested 6 times with it taking longer to resuscitate her each time before they couldn't get her back anymore. She passed away March 3, 1973. I'm so thankful for GBS awareness now, and for better treatment modalities. I just wish my sister could have had that chance.