Noah's story   — Angela Evertz, NJ, USA

My son Noah was born a healthy baby boy on 8/17/07. However, when he was 10 weeks old he was hospitalized for what I know now is called GROUP B STREP. So my story goes like this. I had a great pregnancy without any complications. I was tested for GROUP B STREP at 37 weeks but to my knowledge never was given details as to the results of the test until the day I was delivering my baby. During the labor stage, my nurse informed me that she was giving me antibiotics because I tested positive for GBS and she disregarded it as it was no big deal. Well, it eventually turned out to be a big deal. When Noah was 10 weeks old his whole ordeal began. I had fed him as usual and he was sleeping by 9:30pm. At 11:30, he awoke screaming and crying as though he was in pain. I immediately called his pediatrician who told me to go directly to the hospital. At the hospital he had a temperature of 101 and continued crying. Well, about 2:00am they took blood and urine cultures. At 4:00am they started him on antibiotics as they stated that he had a urine infection. So, as a result, my son was discharged and sent home with antibotics. Well at 2:00pm the ER called me and told me to bring Noah back to the hospital as the blood culture revealed a bacteria in his blood. At this time my son was admitted to perform further testing. Well, he had a spinal tap which revealved bacterial meningitis. So you can imagine my shock, my tears and my fears.. then this is when I started to hear from the doctors that my precious little baby might suffer from deafness, blindness, and "developmental delays." I couldn't bear to hear anymore. The doctors reassured me that Noah was doing well and that they believed that the bacteria was caught in time. But I still did not want to hear that.. I worried day and night for my son. So I turned all my energy to ask God to please spare my child and provide him with a full recovery. Well, I am glad to say that my son was discharged after 2 weeks and is doing well. He is 6 months right now and is the happiest baby. I still monitor all his developmental milestones and I am constantly monitoring his health. MY SON RECOVERED WITH THE HELP OF DOCTORS BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF THE GRACE OF GOD. MY FAMILY AND I PRAYED AND PRAYED FOR HIS RECOVERY. NEVER GIVE UP AND KEEP ALWAYS YOUR FAITH NO-MATTER HOW BIG THE PROBLEM IS. I AM WITNESS OF WHAT GOD CAN DO.. I THANK GOD THAT MY SON IS DOING WELL. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AT angelasw27@yahoo.com Angela