Julian's Story   — Natasha Crame, VA, USA

On 11-28-08 I gave birth to a beautiful HEALTHY baby boy who I called Julian. Twenty days later he showed signs and was diagnosed with GBS meningitis. The hardest thing I've ever had to do by far was watch my 10 day old baby fight for his life. His father and I spent damn near everyday in the hospital for a month. On day 5 they pulled us into a back room and told us that Julian's brain had been severely damaged from the infection. They said it wasn't likely that he'd survive the infection, and if he did he'd be in a vegetative state. I couldn't even begin to explain how I felt at that moment. But for the first time in 7 months, my kid's father holding me felt like the best thing in the world. If I could've had anyone else besides him there for me at that moment, I wouldn't have traded him for anything. From the 5th day on, my baby was having seizures, couldn't regulate his body temp, had a feeding tube in his nose, was on oxygen because he couldn't breathe on his own, and just had all kinds of wires all over him. The chaplins from the hospital came and prayed for him, a priest came and baptized him, and they had a professional photographer take pics of him for us to hold onto as a memory. They all acted like he was going to die for real. On January 12th, Julian got surgery done on his stomach to get a feeding tube placed in. The meningitis caused brain damage, he can't regulate his body temp, he is on anti-seizure medication, can't feed by mouth, and it's said he'll have severe cerebral palsy and mental retardation. They say he's basically gonna be in a vegetative state for the rest of his life. But you know what? When u have kids u REALLY find out what unconditional LOVE is. It is now Jan 17th and my baby got discharged today. I am so grateful that my son is still alive no matter what conditions he has now. When all else fails PRAY. Even though my son didn't come out of the hospital with the minimal things that GBS causes, he's still my miracle baby. I still do believe that God does work miracles, and don't believe a damn thing a doctor says until I see it happen