HUNTER
I remember the day like it was yesterday. March 6th became a date that I celebrated bringing my first baby boy into this world, and then in 2011 on his 5th birthday it became the date I wouldn't know if my baby boy would ever walk again.
It was Hunter's birthday and we had a lot of family in for his birthday. He was an excited 5 year-old child. It was his birthday! Nothing but happiness on that day. Or so we thought. That morning I went into the bedroom to wake him up for Church. I told him to get up and get in the bath tub. He replied, "I can't get up." I thought he was playing so I called his father to the room to get him. A few moments later he came out and was as white as a ghost. He told me our son could not get up.
We rushed Hunter to our local hospital. By the time we arrived Hunter was paralyzed from the chest down. The hospital wanted to fly Hunter to a larger but they could not because the weather was bad. The doctors then made the decision to send Hunter by ambulance to Memorial University in Savannah Georgia. It was there we found out that Hunter had Transverse Myelitis. The MRI still had to confirm it but, the doctors were very certain. They said the first four hours was the life or death time-frame. Never could I have imagined that anything like this could have occurred to my son. And on his birthday!
The doctors started him on high doses of steroids. By the end of that night Hunter was paralyzed from his third cervical vertebrae down. On the second night his left lung collapsed. The respiratory therapist thought it would be a good idea to prepare for a ventilator. Thankfully he was able to go on a V-pap machine and oxygen. There was no real improvement for the first 16 days.
Hunter was going to need a Plasmapheresis treatment (removal, treatment, and return of blood plasma). The Plasmapheresis required that he have a central line put in which would require anesthesia. No doctor would put him to sleep because of his critical condition. Finally, we were told it was time to go to Scottish Rite in Atlanta where the pediatric team there was waiting to get the Plasmapheresis started.
When we got to Scottish Rite we were sent to the ICU where Hunter would be staying. The time it took us to walk to his room, he easily went from the most critical child in Savannah's ICU to the most stable child in Atlanta's ICU. After the Plasmapheresis treatment, Hunter then started therapy.
Hunter went through a lot in Rehab (emotions were everywhere). Slowly he began to move a little and finally had some trunk control. On April 26th, another date I will never forget, Hunter came home from the hospital. After we got home he started therapy with an amazing group in Kingsland. Hunter built a relationship with his therapist and they worked hard to get him walking again with the help of braces and a walker. He started school in his walker and walked all day. As he got older he made the decision he wanted to be in his wheelchair so he could play with the other kids. He wanted to be as normal as possible.
Hunter is now in the 5th grade and the kids at his school do not see a wheelchair. They see their friend Hunter, or "Wheels" as some of them call him. For the Tech Fair he made 3D models of homes that are completely wheelchair accessible. Hunter wants to be an Engineer and dedicate his life to finding ways to help others live a normal life as possible after a traumatic injury. Hunter always has a smile on his face and he is always finding ways to make anything possible.
On March 6th 2006, our first baby boy was born, and on March 6th 2011, Transverse Myelitis tried to take him from us, but in the end we will continue to celebrate that day for not what was taken but for what was gained.
I remember the day like it was yesterday. March 6th became a date that I celebrated bringing my first baby boy into this world, and then in 2011 on his 5th birthday it became the date I wouldn't know if my baby boy would ever walk again.
It was Hunter's birthday and we had a lot of family in for his birthday. He was an excited 5 year-old child. It was his birthday! Nothing but happiness on that day. Or so we thought. That morning I went into the bedroom to wake him up for Church. I told him to get up and get in the bath tub. He replied, "I can't get up." I thought he was playing so I called his father to the room to get him. A few moments later he came out and was as white as a ghost. He told me our son could not get up.
We rushed Hunter to our local hospital. By the time we arrived Hunter was paralyzed from the chest down. The hospital wanted to fly Hunter to a larger but they could not because the weather was bad. The doctors then made the decision to send Hunter by ambulance to Memorial University in Savannah Georgia. It was there we found out that Hunter had Transverse Myelitis. The MRI still had to confirm it but, the doctors were very certain. They said the first four hours was the life or death time-frame. Never could I have imagined that anything like this could have occurred to my son. And on his birthday!
The doctors started him on high doses of steroids. By the end of that night Hunter was paralyzed from his third cervical vertebrae down. On the second night his left lung collapsed. The respiratory therapist thought it would be a good idea to prepare for a ventilator. Thankfully he was able to go on a V-pap machine and oxygen. There was no real improvement for the first 16 days.
Hunter was going to need a Plasmapheresis treatment (removal, treatment, and return of blood plasma). The Plasmapheresis required that he have a central line put in which would require anesthesia. No doctor would put him to sleep because of his critical condition. Finally, we were told it was time to go to Scottish Rite in Atlanta where the pediatric team there was waiting to get the Plasmapheresis started.
When we got to Scottish Rite we were sent to the ICU where Hunter would be staying. The time it took us to walk to his room, he easily went from the most critical child in Savannah's ICU to the most stable child in Atlanta's ICU. After the Plasmapheresis treatment, Hunter then started therapy.
Hunter went through a lot in Rehab (emotions were everywhere). Slowly he began to move a little and finally had some trunk control. On April 26th, another date I will never forget, Hunter came home from the hospital. After we got home he started therapy with an amazing group in Kingsland. Hunter built a relationship with his therapist and they worked hard to get him walking again with the help of braces and a walker. He started school in his walker and walked all day. As he got older he made the decision he wanted to be in his wheelchair so he could play with the other kids. He wanted to be as normal as possible.
Hunter is now in the 5th grade and the kids at his school do not see a wheelchair. They see their friend Hunter, or "Wheels" as some of them call him. For the Tech Fair he made 3D models of homes that are completely wheelchair accessible. Hunter wants to be an Engineer and dedicate his life to finding ways to help others live a normal life as possible after a traumatic injury. Hunter always has a smile on his face and he is always finding ways to make anything possible.
On March 6th 2006, our first baby boy was born, and on March 6th 2011, Transverse Myelitis tried to take him from us, but in the end we will continue to celebrate that day for not what was taken but for what was gained.