Cameron Andrew Jewell's Story   — Casey Jewell, KS, USA

I went into labor at 38 weeks with my second child on 12-27-04. I got to the hospital and they asked if I had my GBS culture results because they couldn't find it in my file. I was very unsure and told them to call my doctor. It was 3 o'clock in the morning so the information at the doctor's office was unavailable. I was negative with my first pregnancy so I was not treated with antibiotics even though they couldn't confirm my results. It was a normal delivery and we were so happy we had our baby boy! A few hours later he refused to eat and his body was very red and cold. At 12 hours old they thought it was best to take him to the special care unit for overnight observation. We went with him and as they were looking him over he stopped breathing and turned blue. At that moment we had no idea what was going on and watched as they administered CPR to our son. He basically died 8 times and they were able to resuscitate him and put him on a ventilator. They then took him to the NICU. The neonatologist had no idea what was wrong with him except that he had a collapsed lung from chest compressions and resuscitation fluids (his right lung was under water and couldn't work) and that he was the sickest kid in the NICU and he had multiple organ failure. He was dying and they gave him the survival rate of 1%. We were devastated but we had to be there for our baby no matter what the outcome. After tests all night long they said that he had a very bad infection but they were still looking into it. We were just happy he lived through the night! After 4 days we finally found out it was GBS. But he had already proved to be a fighter... he was still alive. He was on the ventilator for 10 days, C-pap for 2 days and then to oxygen. He had a spinal tap to rule out meningitis and had an EEG done to check for brain damage because of the lack of oxygen while he was coding. After the test they said best-case scenario he would have cerebral palsy. We were okay with that; we just wanted him with us. He had numerous tests every day and was given blood and platelet transfusions almost regularly because he was bleeding out in his stools. Platelet counts should be around 100,000 and Cameron's were in the double digits. Slowly but surely Cameron started to come around and get better. At 7 days old he finally opened his eyes! He had been in a drug induced coma because he was in so much pain. We finally took our baby home at 2 weeks old and he remained on oxygen for 2 months. At 3 months he had a follow up EEG and all signs of brain damage were gone!!! The doctor couldn't believe it, but he doesn't believe in miracles, so he made the excuse that the hospital machines must have been inaccurate. But we know the truth...we had so much prayer and faith in the Lord and our baby was healed. Now he is coming close to his 2nd birthday and he is perfect. He has a medical chart bigger than most adults and still has frequent check-ups, but he has no ill-effects from the GBS. We are so grateful for the doctors we were blessed with, (besides the one who I spoke of) and they still remember us. We visit the NICU every 6 months to give the nurses snacks and updates. I know alot of GBS babies don't have this great of an outcome, and I pray for those babies daily. I know the sheer terror and what it's like to not know what' happening to your baby. If anyone would like to E-mail me, feel free. I don't know anyone who has gone though this and it's neat to share stories and also sympathize. ~ Casey Jewell and Baby Cameron Andrew Jewell giggle24seven@yahoo.com