Conner’s Story

On April 12, 2023, Connor, our 20-month-old, began showing signs of what we assumed to be a stomach bug. At the time we had a 7-day old newborn, and while at his brother’s 1 week checkup that morning, Connor threw up in the doctor’s office and had a loose diaper. The doctor told us he probably had a bug and we went home to make sure he got some rest and hydration. As the day continued his symptoms progressed and by the late afternoon, we noticed that there was blood in his diaper. 

We immediately were alarmed and informed his pediatrician and they told us to collect his next diaper as a sample and bring him in first thing in the morning. Once we were back at the doctor on April 13, they informed us of a newer test available that would allow cultures to be sent and returned within 24 hours rather than a typical 3–5-day test result. Connor was not able to keep anything down & he continued to have constant bloody diarrhea for the next 24 hours. By the afternoon on April 15, we received the test results. We were told he tested positive for Shiga Toxin E.coli (STEC)  and that due to the strain (OH157:H7) they were concerned about his kidneys. They began calling our local hospital and worked on the paperwork to have us admitted to the ER for further labs and testing. 

Once we were in the ER, Connor was immediately placed on an IV to give him fluids as he was extremely dehydrated. They did one round of bloodwork and informed us that based on his levels they were not comfortable keeping him there. We were told there was a hospital in New Orleans (which is only about 45 minutes away) that had a pediatric nephrologist who was wanting to oversee Connor’s case. Connor and my husband were transported and admitted to Oschner Hospital the night of April 14th, and I went home to be with our newborn baby who obviously needed me at the time.

By the late afternoon on April 15th, Connor was already given a catheter to monitor urine output and a PICC line to assist with the number of labs and blood work they were needing to conduct. He was officially diagnosed with HUS and we were told that he was in acute renal failure. As they began his transfer to the PICU, I made my way down to New Orleans and relied on my parents who lived in the city to take care of the baby so that my attention could fully be on Connor. 

When we walked into the PICU in the late evening of the 15th, we were greeted by a team of doctors all standing in a line waiting to meet us. Each of them told us their role as the nurses were prepping Connor for surgery to place a catheter in his neck to connect him to CRRT. The nephrologist spent time very carefully explaining to us what HUS was, what it was doing to Connor’s body, and how the CRRT was going to combat the issue. He said that although Connor’s kidneys were significantly injured and that he did not know the timeframe, he was confident they would recover. He was hopeful which gave us hope from the beginning. 

 Connor was returned to us in the very early hours of April 16th, on a ventilator and connected to a CRRT which was giving him 24/7 dialysis. They explained that the ventilator was preventative and was allowing his body to rest and focus on recovery, and he remained on the ventilator for a total of 8 days. During that time period there were a few times they struggled to control his blood pressure but, thankfully, there were no serious complications. Connor was on CRRT for 9 full days before his kidneys began to work on their own. Because of a problem with the CRRT machine clotting & the amount of urine output that he was showing, the doctors made the decision to keep him off of dialysis and see how his body responded. By the 10th day in the PICU, Connor was showing a urine output of a healthy 20-month-old. For the next week, we focused on weaning Connor off of the medications and working on PT/OT to help him regain back the strength and movements that he had. 

 After 19 days in the hospital, Connor was discharged on our newborns 1 month birthday. The baby had been staying with my mother full time in the room of a hotel that was connected to the hospital. For the last 19 days, my husband and I had been taking turns and “night shifts” relieving my mom from baby duty as much as we could. We returned home as a family of four on May 3, 2023. 

 Connor jumped back into his normal routine without missing a beat. He is a healthy and happy normal toddler and adjusted well to getting out of the hospital. He remained on a blood pressure medication for the next year, but as of April 2024, a full year later, he was considered to have Stage 1 – kidney function. We will forever be thankful for the quick action of our pediatrician and the wise choices in treatment that the doctors made to ensure Connor’s recovery.