Alayna Lyon

On December 7, 2011, I took my daughter, Alayna Lyon, to the Emergency Room for a fever of 104.5. We left that evening with a prescription for a urinary tract infection. They are doctors, we are supposed to trust they know what they are doing, so I did.

On December 8th, my previously healthy child began to go down very fast. She was unable to even reach for her water that was beside her on the table. Her entire body hurt, even to the touch. By 3:00 that afternoon she was unable to walk to the bathroom. As I was helping her down the small hallway, she collapsed on the floor. She began vomiting, and was very confused.

When we arrived at her pediatricians office, they attempted to prick her finger to check her white blood cells (WBC). There was no blood. Her fingers and toes went from yellow to blue. She was so pale. Her body had started to protect her vital organs and all of her blood began to centralize. Her blood pressure was dropping rapidly. Her doctor decided she should be transported to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital by ambulance. As we were in the ambulance, I was completely unaware of what was about to happen. We did not ride with sirens, and all the paramedic was saying was that her blood pressure was pretty low.

When we arrived at Vanderbilt, there was a team of about 10 doctors waiting for our sweet baby. Even the paramedic said that if he had any idea, he would have warned me. I am so grateful to live in Nashville near the best children’s hospital in the world! They are amazing! As they took our baby, I knew she was in the best hands but I was in complete shock. All we kept hearing was that she was really sick and they were trying to stabilize her and then they would come talk to us. Her blood pressure had dropped to 60/30 and they used every presser they had available to try to stabilize her. They put her to sleep because her body was shutting down. With the doctors doing her body’s work for her, there was a better chance of her being able to fight the infection. We were told after she was stabilized that the timing was absolutely perfect. Praise God! They said she would not have made it through the night and, had we not arrived when we did, they may not have been able to get any central lines.

Alayna had a central line put in both femoral arteries, one in her internal jugular vein, and IVs in both arms. My previously healthy child was, as stated by the ER doctor, “one of the sickest children he had seen in a long time.” My baby is a toughie, and my God is an awesome God!

After only two days, she was doing well enough to come off of the meds that were keeping her asleep and off of the ventilator in only three! We still had a ways to go but it was so much better to see our baby awake and breathing on her own. After cultures started coming back it was discovered that she had come in contact with Streptococcus pneumoniae, and for reasons that are still unknown it became invasive, which caused her to go into septic shock. (Sepsis and Children)

Today, she is a once again healthy 10-year-old girl. When you are a survivor of sepsis, knowing how quickly it can take a life, fear is inevitable. Gone are the days of giving Tylenol and waiting a minor illness out. Within 24 hours my daughter went from normal to near death. Every small ailment scares her, and of course it scares mommy too! I am grateful for Sepsis Alliance. I am grateful for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. I am grateful for Goodlettsville Pediatrics. Being initially treated for a urinary tract infection by a local ER when my daughter was in septic shock just shows you how many doctors are not educated enough! I will do my part to bring awareness to Sepsis! I love the ribbon, and plan to wear one to bring attention to Sepsis! The more we raise awareness, the more lives will be saved!

Source: by Alisha King (Alayna's mother)