A 2 month old had presented to the ED with her mom and sister. Her sister was actually the patient being seen for the day. The triage nurse had noticed how small the baby was that accompanied this family, thinking that this child was a newborn. After some conversation with the mom, the nurse, Kerrie Rea had found out the baby was 2 months old and had no past medical history including being born prematurely. The conversation continued and Karrie managed to convince mom to have this child be seen as well (diarrhea). Later on that evening, the baby was admitted for failure to thrive. The baby was under the second percentile of what the weight and height should have been. The mom had been reconstituting the formula incorrectly and supplementing with apple juice. During the hospital stay, he could not thermoregulate effectively and could not suck the bottle. According to the child abuse doctor "this baby very well would have died".
As a result of just her doing her job....this baby is now a thriving 7 month old. The doctor wanted to mention that this ED catch resulted in this child physically growing and developing appropriate for age. He and his sister are in placement with a relative in a loving supportive family. This story has a happy ending thanks to Kerrie.