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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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What started out as a seemingly ordinary stomach bug escalated into a visit to the ICU for one toddler and her panic-stricken family.
When Erin Dimond and her husband, Jordan Dugger, sold the company they founded together, they did so in order to focus on raising their two kids, Jaxson, 4, and Marlee, 1.
However, just a week after signing on the dotted line, Marlee became ill, and things got very scary very quickly.
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According to Dimond, it all started with Marlee having a “runny nose.” Dimond assumed it was from teething, but then her daughter began vomiting.
“She’s thrown up before, but she was also very lethargic and slept on me that day, which wasn’t like her,” Dimond told Newsweek. “We figured it was just a little stomach bug, so we did what most parents do. We tried to keep fluids down and just let her rest.”
Another day of lethargy and vomiting followed before Dimond noticed Marlee’s tongue had become red and swollen. They immediately took her to the ER. It was the best decision they could have made, given what happened next.
“In the ER, she had a temperature of 104.4 and a heart rate of 240. Her respiratory rate was also very high,” Dimond said.
“All of that immediately signaled panic, and suddenly there was a team of about nine doctors surrounding us. They started giving her fluids and running tests on her heart, which helped bring her heart rate down.”
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Even then, doctors struggled to pinpoint what had made Marlee so unwell. “They couldn’t really tell what was going on, so they transferred us to the ICU,” Dimond said.
Marlee’s stomach had appeared distended. An abdominal ultrasound ruled out the possibility that her appendix had burst. Marlee then underwent an emergency laparotomy. Doctors found a significant amount of fluid throughout her abdomen caused by an infection, which was eventually determined to be Group A Streptococcus.
Group A Streptococcus, or strep A for short, is a type of bacteria that commonly lives in the throat and on the skin. It spreads through respiratory droplets or direct contact with infected wounds and can cause mild infections such as strep throat and impetigo.
However, in more serious cases, it can lead to invasive diseases like scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, sepsis, or necrotizing fasciitis (a flesh-eating disease), which can be life-threatening if not treated promptly with antibiotics.
Marlee’s situation, however, was more severe.
“The infection was so severe that they weren’t convinced that was the entire explanation, so they also began considering Kawasaki disease,” Dimond said.
Kawasaki disease is a rare condition that mainly affects young children and causes inflammation in the blood vessels throughout the body. It typically presents with a high fever, rash, and swelling of the hands and feet and, in serious cases, can lead to complications affecting the heart, particularly the coronary arteries.
Dimond said Marlee underwent multiple cardiac evaluations as a result.
“Her first echocardiogram showed a small amount of coronary artery dilation, which can happen in cases with significant inflammation,” she said. “Because of that finding, and because they still weren’t completely sure what they were dealing with, they treated her with intravenous immunoglobulin in addition to multiple IV antibiotics.”
Further CT scans were conducted. Dimond had initially assumed they would be in the hospital for a matter of days, but it proved to be more like weeks.
“The hospital stay turned into something much longer because the fevers wouldn’t go away,” Dimond said. “The infection was so severe that even with multiple antibiotics, she continued spiking fevers, and doctors continued searching for answers.”
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Despite the difficulties endured, Marlee was fortunate in one sense: the infection never spread to her lungs, heart, or brain. Some time later, Dimond is happy to report her daughter is doing “great.”
“We’re so lucky to have gotten her in when we did and stop the spread of the infection,” she said. “She went home with oral antibiotics, but she’s now off them after a clear follow-up ultrasound.”
Since sharing Marlee’s story, Dimond has been in contact with other families who have gone through similar experiences. Sadly, for some, the outcome hasn’t been as positive. She hopes that by sharing her story and raising awareness, she will help parents stay vigilant.
“Viral and bacterial infections often show up together. The bacterial infection can be missed and assumed to be part of the viral symptoms,” she said. “I’ve spoken to many parents who were in a situation like Marlee’s and were sent home. If she had been sent home and not properly diagnosed, it may have been life-threatening. Ask your doctor for blood cultures to rule out anything bacterial.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Emma Lee-Sang.
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