Lilah’s Medical Adventure

Hi, my name is Sam and I’m Lilah’s momma. This is not what we expected to happen after a month of having Lilah Jay home with us.

Lilah’s dad Thomas and I took Lilah into the Emergency room in Bishop on March 16th with a high fever. We were then told she would need a lumbar puncture after tests came back negative and within minutes the fluid from her spine was presenting with bacteria which leads to meningitis. We were then transferred by Sierra Life Flight to Renown Children’s where they diagnosed her with Group B Strep Meningitis. They immediately started her on antibiotics that would specifically target this type of meningitis and we have been in Reno ever since.

We were told 21 days would be the longest care plan for her and she would have to get an MRI to make sure her brain was all clear from infection. We caught it early but there were signs of it in her brain which cleared up after 2 extra weeks of antibiotics. Even though she no longer has active infection and everything is coming back clear we are still waiting to get a third MRI and be released from Renown as they are wanting to be cautious and make sure she is still clearing residual from the meningitis. Our MRI date is not until the 2nd of May and we have been here for over a month spending the days with Lilah in the hospital room and getting through almost all the Disney classics.

We were hoping it wouldn’t be this long but we are now worrying about medical bills and being able to survive after almost two months of being in the hospital. It has been a crazy journey and we are glad it was caught early as Lilah is not affected by the infection but we are sad as she has spent longer here than she was at home. We are ready to come home.

Anything helps with this unexpected adventure to Renown Children’s, but we couldn’t be happier with the care we are receiving from the nurses who love her so much and doctors that adore her.