my name is sherin dumond. I wanted to introduce myself to you since we lost a 10 month old baby girl to menegiococemnia in 1978. We are located in abbeville louisiana .
It happened so fast and as a parent who was young and hospital ER Dr not trained my daughter was put in a hospital room with no urgency and medical attention. Pediatrician would be avalable next day .
The day started normal my baby was fine she ate a good at lunch. I put her down for a nap, about 20 minutes later i go to check up on her and she is hot i pick her up and she is floppy no sound.
We rush her to hospital to ER i remember so vividly my baby on ER bed doctor checking her fever not crying or anything eyes not opening and there is one mosquito looking bite on her tummy dr run blood test nothing shows up ER Dr ask about pediatrician who is at pediatrics conference would be back the next day advised us to bring her to his hospital .
We entered that hospital around 2, put us in a room i remember trying to give her tylenol she would vomit it. She never cried and just kept sleeping.
Around 6 i needed to change her diaper and the mosquito looking bite was now a bruise i called nurse and that was when there was urgency calling the ER floor doctor. By 11:00 pm they are transferring her to larger hospital my husband and I followed in ambulance she died by 12 am she crashed on the way and i never saw her again.
She died on june 4th 1977. I never got to see her body we had to bury her in a closed casket On june 5th pediatrician called me at funeral home crying he advised me she had menegiocococemnia the blood test results took 2 days to show what she had. Her pediatrician had seen a case of menigio where the baby survived but the mother also came down with it and died this happen and i know that advancements have come a long way.
I hope you tell this story to your colleagues of crystal brooke dumond, meningitis angel born august 2nd 1977 died on july 4th 1978.
Sherin Dumond
Aug 2023