discussion title:
GBS survivor w/respiratory problems
Hi, I've never posted here before. Here is our story. I have an 18-month old son who is GBS survivor. I was 36 weeks along with my 5th baby when my water broke unexpectedly (I had never gone into premature labor before). I had been tested for GBS the morning before so I hadn't heard any results of that test yet and didn't even think of asking about it when I went into labor. I was in labor for 18 hours and on an IV to induce labor. No antibiotics were ever offered to me and I didn't have the knowledge to ask for them. My son was born with good apgar scores but had respiratory distress almost immediately after. He was put under and oxygen hood in the nursery for 8 hours before being transferred to a bigger hospital with an NICU. He had to be intubated shortly after arrival there and we were told he had sepsis, pneumonia and some type of strep infection. He was started on three different antibiotics and given a blood transfusion. The next we found out that he had GBS. A spinal tap showed that he did not have meningitis. For two weeks he battled the GBS before we also found out that he had a nasal defect also causing respiratory distress. We were sent to another hospital for surgery to correct the defect and continued to battle with respiratory distress even after the defect was corrected. We finally got to bring our little guy home when he was 3 months old. He continues to need oxygen and a monitor for breathing difficulties. We recently found out that he has some scarring in his larynx due to repeated intubations. He is a very happy baby for the most part but is developmentally delayed and cannot yet sit or stand on his own due to low muscle tone. A physical therapist comes weekly to work with him. He is also fed by g-tube and seems to have trouble swallowing. We've also been faced with the possibility of autism and CP but no diagnosis yet. It's been a long road but he has made progress.
Does anyone know if a GBS survivor who did not have meningitis can have these type of after effects or if it's more likely to be related to something else? I'd love to hear any input or similar stories. Thanks.
