Kayden McMullen
2 years old
Loretto, PA

In 2006, when Kayden was just 5 months old, he developed a fever that lasted two days – then turned more serious.  His mother Laura thought that Kayden had the flu, but then he had a seizure and she knew it was much more than the flu.

He was taken to a local hospital by ambulance, and doctors there suspected something much more serious than the flu; they suspected it was meningitis. Antibiotics were administered immediately, and Kayden was taken by Life Flight®  to Geisinger’s Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville for more specialized care. 

Upon Kayden's arrival at Geisinger, his prognosis wasn't great and further testing would need to be done to deternine what was expected to be wrong with Kayden.

The only way to confirm what doctors thought was causing Kayden’s problem: pneumococcal meningitis, was to do a spinal tap - also called a lumbar puncture, which involves removing fluid from the area around the spinal cord for testing.

What doctors expected was true. The test results came back and Kayden was diagnosed wtih pneumococcal meningitis. “This is the type of meningitis with the highest morbidity and mortality rate, and Kayden’s lab results weren’t good,” Dr. Ryan says.  “Because he was only 5 months old and couldn’t communicate or respond like an older child would, it was difficult to tell how he was going to do.” 

After a 10-day stay in the PICU at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital – with the benefit of Children’s Miracle Network-funded items ranging from the IV pumps to the in-room recliners available for his parents – Kayden was well enough to go home.  He would still need IV antibiotics twice a day, but he continued to improve quickly.

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