Maternal Instincts and Advocacy Lead to Proper Diagnosis [Ashley Hendricks]

Well, I'm Ashley Hendricks. I am from Brookings, South Dakota, and I work for the Special Education Department at the Brookings School District.

Why did you bring your child to the emergency room?

Beau was 3 months old at the time. He's currently 19 months old. And when this all occurred, he had been showing your typical cold symptoms for a three-month-old baby. He had congestion, you know, on-and-off fever. And I took him in and was like, "This is his first ear infection." And they were like, "Nope, his ears are fine." And so, they just assumed that it was a viral infection, and we just continued to monitor, like a typical cold for a three-month-old baby.

And it wasn't. But we had been into the clinic a couple of times, and I, finally, on Saturday morning, just said, "Something's wrong." He had cried for eight hours straight on Friday night and started running a fever. And so brought him into the clinic, and they just ultimately said, "We can run the basics, but you really need a comprehensive evaluation for Beau. And so we're going to send you over to the emergency department over at the Brookings Health System."

Did you have a long wait to see the doctor?

Beau and myself arrived to the emergency department on Saturday morning, coming from the Sanford Clinic. And the minute we walked in, they knew we were coming. It was amazing that the clinic was, like, "We will call and let them know you're on your way." So from the minute we walked in, we got checked in. And then we were back in the room within five minutes, and the nursing staff was ready to be there.

How did the ER staff help comfort Beau?

The ER staff was phenomenal. Walking into an ER, you just never know as a mom what you're going to get. And I was so nervous. When a clinic can't answer your questions and they send you to the ER, you're going, "Okay, deep breath, what are we gonna find out here when we go in?" The minute we had two amazing nurses, Ashley and Heidi. I forever will be grateful for them. They immediately comforted us and started working, and gave Beau what he needed in the moment, and then proceeded from there to give us the care.

What was your son's diagnosis?

So when we arrived at the ER and they continued to do all of the things, Beau was originally diagnosed with rhino enterovirus, and they sound really scary in the moment, but it's ultimately... They explained it to us as a cold. I was like, "I knew that that was that." But he was still so lethargic and just not eating and not responding to anybody in the care room. And so my mom gut told me that something more was wrong than just a viral infection.

And Nurse Heidi came in, and she was amazing. She goes, "My mom gut is also telling me that there's something more with this. And so my nursing gut is also telling me that there's something more going on." And so, they went out and consulted with the doctor again and ended up doing another test. It was kind of a newer test, but it ultimately indicated that he had a bacterial infection, but it was unknown where or why it was happening to him. And so, from there, they continued to monitor and tried to get to the source of it. And Beau was eventually diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.

What was your reaction?

At the time, going through my mind when they say bacterial infection, you immediately get on Google because that's what everyone does. And it was like a range of "you're fine" to "death," and you really have no idea what you're working with. And so, that was the most difficult to comprehend. "Well, what's next?"

What was Beau's treatment plan?

So the ultimate decision from the emergency department was that they needed Beau to be monitored because we didn't know which direction he was headed. And so they gave us the choice to be monitored here or be monitored down in Sioux Falls at the Children's Castle. And that's ultimately where we ended up due to the need of such intense pediatric care.

How was your communication with the ER staff?

The Brookings Emergency Department shared everything for us in ways that we could understand. I joked with them, like, "I'm in special education. I need you to talk to me like I was just a person off the street. I don't want your medical terms." And they were fantastic, especially when they said "rhino enterovirus." I was like, "What is that?" And from there, I was like, "I don't know what rhino enterovirus is." And they're like, "It's just a cold." "Okay, that's a lot better to understand." And so they really just talked to me like I was a person that had no medical experience, which was amazing because when you see lab reports of all of the things... As mom, I was already panicked. I couldn't interpret anything that they were giving me, so they really broke it down to a level of understanding for me.

How was your communication between hospitals?

Sanford Clinic in Brookings here and the Brookings Health Emergency Department communicated fantastically. The clinic was able to call the ER. They were ready for us, and so that communication was great. And then once we decided to go from the emergency department here in Brookings down to the Sanford Castle, the communication was also amazing. We ended up driving ourselves down instead of doing an ambulance because Beau was pretty stable at the time. And so, once we arrived there, they knew who we were, where we were coming from, and got us into a room down there really quickly. And then they were able to communicate back here and say, "Oh, these are the tests that you've already had done. This is where you're sitting, and how do we move forward?" And so the communication was amazing between the two facilities in different cities.

What did you appreciate most about your son's care?

The thing I appreciated the most about my son's care here in Brookings were the nurses. Beau had the most amazing nursing staff that I have ever come upon, and after having two kids, I will never have better nursing. Heidi and Ashley went above and beyond and really just treated me like a mom that was worried and treated Beau like he was their own son at 3 months old, and really worked to get an answer. And they continued to reach out once we had the diagnosis in Sioux Falls and just checked in with my family and our support system, as they knew it was really significant, and just their care was outstanding.

Why was it important to have nurses that advocated for you?

The nurses' advocacy was so important to us. Heidi and Ashley really just continued to work when we knew we had some answers, but we didn't know what, for sure. And so, I just kept saying, "My mom gut tells me there's more," and they were like, "Okay, we'll keep working and we'll keep trying to work to find answers." And so they continued to go back to the doctor and just kept pushing, like, "Mom is saying there's more. This is abnormal." And so it was just a really strong line of communication when I have no medical background.

Why is local care important to you?

If the Brookings ER wasn't here to help us in this situation, my son might not be here today and be the strong, happy 19-month-old that he is able to be. Their care and commitment in trying to find us an answer and then ultimately being able to send us where we needed to go is what kept him alive and here today.

How is Beau's recovery?

So, right now, Beau has no significant side effects that we are noticing, but we just continue to monitor him.

Why do you recommend the Brookings ER?

I would recommend Brookings Health System to others in our community, as they are a facility that is there for you no matter what time of day, whether it's trauma or just a significant, sudden illness. They were able to support us when we didn't know what was going on. And so, for our community, it's an amazing resource to use, and they are willing to send you and find you answers to whatever you might need.

Are you one of Brookings Health System's grateful patients who would like to give back to us? Learn more about how you can give back at brookingshealth.org/MyThanks.