By the time we made it home she was much worse and tried to speak but it sounded like she had had a stroke. That night was horrible, she screamed out all through the night, she was throwing up, grinding her teeth and was extremely sick. The next morning on Oct.26 2002 I took her to the emergency room. When we got there she was extremely dehydrated, could not walk, talk and had very little motor skills.

I think the thing that bothered me the most was that I felt there was something horribly wrong with her, but her Doctor only admitted her for dehydration and no other tests. By 10.00 P.M. that night she was screaming and grinding her teeth so loud... I'll never forget that sound. Then they started cat scans, spinals, and still could find nothing. The next morning she was totally out of it and was unresponsive.

We were there 2 days before they said she had meningeo encephalitis. They started her on 21 days of Acyclovir and said all we could do was wait and see. Well little by little and day by day she made tiny improvements. She had to learn to walk, talk and relearn most everything. We were there 6 weeks at Cook Children's Hospital and by the time we got out she was walking pretty good, A little off balance, talking slowly and was learning to use the potty again.

We're home now and she is doing great! You can hardly tell she was sick. I think being around her brothers and sisters and playing with them has helped her more than any of the OT/PT therapy. Her personality is a little different, but not in a bad way ...she is super affectionate and cuddly now...loves to be held a lot. And her tastes have changed somewhat.

We are so blessed and grateful for her recovery. It amazes me to think how sick she was and how wonderful she is doing now. I thank God every night for keeping our family together.