On February 16th, our sweet baby Harvey was admitted to the Toledo Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. 

    His story began early Sunday morning when he woke up with a fever, was acting lethargic and very agitated.  We took him to a nearby emergency room where they treated him for dehydration and sent us on our way just a couple of hours later.  After bringing Harvey home, he seemed better. He slept comfortably and his temperature was back to a normal range. Later that evening, he was back to a lethargic state and was inconsolable. This time, I knew that he needed more than a few hours of medical attention. We took him directly to the Toledo Hospital.  As we were on our way to the emergency room, I remember thinking  that they would probably start him on some IV fluids, possibly an antibiotic and keep him over night. We never imagined that in just two hours, our son would be getting a blood transfusion and a diagnosis of bacterial Meningitis and Haemophilus influenza. He was admitted directly to the PICU.

    In short, meningitis is the inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. There is bacterial meningitis and viral meningitis. Viral being the easier to treat. Within the meningitis ‘family’ there are several different types. Type A through F. Type B is the one most of us are familiar with because it’s what we get vaccinated for. It’s the only type of meningitis that even has a vaccine. Both our boys have been fully vaccinated so to hear Harvey’s diagnosis came as a shock considering bacterial meningitis is very rare. We have yet to learn which exact type he has (A-F).  Lab results take several days and are needed to be sent off to the ODOH for processing. 

    If you’ve read Harvey’s story thus far, we thank you and hope you continue on to and read the struggles he’s endured over the last week.  We’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg.  We are on day 10 in the PICU. From day one, doctors informed us of the complications that bacterial meningitis can cause. Complications such as: fevers, neck stiffness, head and limb pain, swelling of the fontanelle and in the most severe cases, seizures.

    At only 7 months, Harvey has experienced all of the above and more—much much more. He’s had every complication that the doctors made us aware of and one not even they saw coming. There has been seizures upon seizures, he went septic, he’s needed blood transfusions, he’s had swelling and empyema (pus) built up on his brain. Fevers, vomiting, confusion, pain and irritability. But there was one complication no parent or even doctor could see coming. A stroke.

    Harvey has suffered a major stroke to the left side of his brain, leaving the right side of his body immobile.  No more hand holding, no more paddy cake, no more fist sucking, no more sitting up, no more rolling around with big brother, no more adorable toe sucking or butt-in-the-air sleeps. It was all gone within the matter of seconds. 

This is something we have yet to come to terms with. I’m not sure we ever will. Mostly because of shock and disbelief.  Because we’re angry, confused and completely heart broken. But nonetheless, we have hope and perspective. Our baby boy is still here.  He’s still with us. That alone is EVERYTHING. We have hope that with aggressive therapy, Harvey will regain some, if not all of his right side back. Babies and children have a way of surprising the hell out of doctors every day. I know Harvey can be one of them.  As of now, we don’t know if there has been brain damage that could lead to a life long disability.  We don’t know if the stroke has expanded or if his brain is swelling to the point of needing surgery.  This is all TBD. MRI’s are scheduled and those results will get us a better feel of where we are and where we need to be. 

   Harvey has an army of doctors working day and night doing everything they can to help heal his little brain.  This brings us comfort.  Every morning we see the critical care physician, the stroke team, the ICU doctor, the Neuro surgeon, a neurologist, the infectious disease team, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist and a slew of amazing nurses all talking with each other and working together for the best possible outcome.  It’s absolutely incredible to see the staff love and care for Harvey ‘round the clock. He’s exactly where he needs to be. 

• Current Medical Goal - Our main focus at this time is to keep his seizures at bay and reduce the amount of empyema (pus) in his brain. He’s been hooked up to an EEG machine to monitor his brain activity. 23 wires on his teeny head to be exact. He’s on multiple seizure medications and of course antibiotics to kill the meningitis and H flu bacteria. 

• What do we ask of you? Prayers. We need all of the love, kind thoughts and prayers we can get. As parents, you try your hardest not to travel down the dark path full of ‘what-ifs’ and ‘why us?’. We need our family, friends and community now more than ever. 

• If I choose to donate to the Hope for Harvey campaign, how will the donations be used? We want to be as transparent as possible. Harvey is needing at least another 6 weeks of aggressive antibiotics. Most of these weeks we will continue to be hospitalized.  Intense therapy both in home and eventually outpatient along with routine checkups will become our new norm for the next year  and possibly longer. All donations will be used for Harvey’s treatment and some every day living costs until we are working again. Every donation both big and small will make a massive impact on Harvey’s recovery and we would be forever grateful. If donating is not a possibility for you, we ask that you please share this page with your family and friends. Getting the word out about his case would me so much to us.  

We are so thankful for our families and friends who have reached out in support of all of us. You are all Harvey’s Hero and we cannot express our gratitude. Thank you for helping us in bringing Harvey home.