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Hannah's story   — JONI FLOYD, WV, USA

I had the GBS strep test during my pregnancy like everyone is supposed to and it came back positive. Like most stories I have read, my Dr. told me I would have antibiotics and everything would be fine. I was induced at a little over 37 weeks due to preeclampsia. My labor lasted about 22 hours, but everything went fine. Hannah weighed 7 lbs. even, and was a healthy baby girl. At a little over 3 weeks we thought she had colic as she wouldn't eat much, didn't sleep much, and cried a lot. When she was 4 weeks old, her daddy was holding her and her eyes crossed almost inside her head. He started to cry and ask what was wrong. I called the ped nurse and she told me all babies' eyes do that and, if I had any more concerns, they were there on Saturday, so I could bring her in. Well, daddy went to work and I was home alone with Hannah. She ate 2ounces and threw it back up. I changed her clothes and cleaned her up. Her left hand started twitching. I thought, "This is a seizure!" so I got her in the car, picked up her daddy (his work was not far from the house), and we went to the ER. When the intake nurse took Hannah's temp it was very low, so they immediately took her to the ER. After giving them the required information, we went to join Hannah. The first thing the nurse asked was if I had tested positive for GBS. I said, "Yes." They tried starting an IV and gave her seizure meds. I tried to stay back and they kept telling me, "Mom, you can come closer." I would say, "No, I don't want to be in the way. Just do what you can for Hannah." She seized for a long time. We called family members because it was not looking good. They got her moved to the PICU and started a central line and got her settled. Then they wheeled her out to go for a CT scan and we only got to see her for a minute. That is the hardest thing: your child so sick and you can't hold or comfort her. We were finally allowed to go back and be with her. The Drs. talked to us and told us she had GBS meningitis and sepsis. She was put on a ventilator and left on it for 9 days. They told us 3 times about the brain damage she sustained and told us she was going to die. We would not believe it. There were people all over the whole world praying for her. One day she completely turned around. The seizures stopped, the antibiotics started working, and she was alert. She was in the hospital for 19 days, but, thank the Good Lord above, we brought our baby girl home. I thank God every day that my daughter is here with us. Hannah is still having seizure activity at 26 months. She has hemiparesis on her left side and a developmental delay, and is getting ready to have botox surgery on her left leg to help with the tightness. She also has some eye problems that might lead to the brain shutting the left eye off (in which case she will go blind in that eye.) I am 17 weeks pregnant now and am trying to find more info on GBS which is how I found this web site. I am so sorry for the losses others have had, but thank you for your stories. If pregnant women knew about this site and others like it, many would know what signs to look for. I have seen so many times parents thought their child had colic when they had the same signs my Hannah showed. God's blessings to all. Joni Hannah.² She seized for a long time. We called family members because it was not looking good. They got her moved to the PICU and started a central line and got her settled. Then they wheeled her out to go for a CT scan and we only got to see her for a minute. That is the hardest thing: your child so sick and you can't hold or comfort her. We were finally allowed to go back and be with her. The Drs talked to us and told us she had GBS meningitis and sepsis. She was put on a ventilator and left on it for 9 days. They told us 3 times about the brain damage she sustained and told us she was going to die. We would not believe it. There were people all over the whole world praying for her. One day she completely turned around. The seizures stopped, the antibiotics started working, and she was alert. She was in the hospital for 19 days but, thank the good lord above, we brought our baby girl home. I thank God every day that my daughter is here with us. Hannah is still having seizure activity at 26 months. She has hemiparesis on her left side and a developmental delay, and is getting ready to have botox surgery on her left leg to help with the tightness. She also has some eye problems that might lead to the brain shutting the left eye off (in which case she will go blind in that eye). I am 17 weeks pregnant now and am trying to find more info on GBS thatıs how I found this web site. I am so sorry for the losses others have had, but thank you for your stories. If pregnant women knew about this site and others like it, many would know what signs to look for. I have seen so many times parents thought their child had colic when they had the same signs my Hannah showed. God bless to all. Joni








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