I called the doctors office and they did not feel she needed to be seen. They said it sounded like the flu and to make sure she gets plenty of rest and fluids. All of us thought she had the flu. Later on in the day, she was vomiting off and on in small amounts. Again, I called the doctor. The doctor said that she has the flu and that this was normal. She told me to give Emily Benedryl, that sometimes that helps coat the belly and makes the vomiting stop. I gave Emily the medicine and she went back upstairs to take a nap. I checked on her several times. My mom had stopped by to visit and went upstairs to see Emily as well. She didn't think anything was" terribly" wrong either. After a while, she came downstairs, looking very pale, weak and disoriented. I took her temp and it was registering at 92.7. I called the doctor again, and she said well that can't be the right temp and maybe she is dazed from the Benedryl. The doctor told me to call her back in 20 minutes with an update. Emily was now on our sofa in the living room. I asked her her name, and she answered" Emily". I asked her how many fingers am I holding up , again, she answered correctly. I tried taking her temp again and this time, she couldn't keep her mouth closed. I thought she was kidding around. I was saying " Emily, come on knock it off ". Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she was moaning. She was having a seizure. She was non responsive. We called 911.I called my parents. The neighbor came over to help.

She was taken to our local hospital. On the way there, I was in the front of the ambulance. My husband was following behind us. I heard them saying " she's posturing ". Which I later learned she was seizing, still. They were trying to get an IV into her. I was hanging out the window almost throwing up. When we arrived at the hospital, she was given antibiotics, blood was drawn, and a cat scan was done. The ER was all about Emily for that next hour. The cat scan showed no swelling, no tumors, no bleeding. By this time, my aunt came to stay with our children at home so that my parents could be at the hospital. Her pediatrician showed up next. Evidently, when I didn't call back in 20 minutes, she called us. Emily's eyes were fixed to the left. She was not responding at all, except for a little movement in her arm when given a shot. Her doctor decided that she needed to be at a children's hospital. She was airlifted to a children's hospital. The nurses in the ER cried with us. My husband and I had to drive to the hospital, it is about 1 hour. My parents went home to our other children, Timmy , then 7 years old and Elyse, then 4 months old.

For the next 2 hours, we waited and waited. Finally, the doctor came out. He had been trying to save my daughter's life. He sat us down and told us that she has Bacterial Meningitis and that he believes she is already brain dead. He said tests were done which showed no brain activity and that the tests would be repeated in 6 hours. The rest of our family was called to come to the hospital. We had to wait all night long to get a second opinion from a pediatric neurologist ( state law). Emily was pronounced brain dead from Neisseria Meningitis on 11/12/01 at 11:10am. Her neurological exams were done 11 hours apart. It appears Emily left us in the helicopter. I found out much later that her blood pressure had dropped, her temp was 91 degrees, and her brain had swelled , "hernia ion syndrome".

Emily was a very happy child. She was good in school and just started to learn how to play the clarinet. She was always smiling, that smile is what everyone remembers about her. Emily has 1 sister, Elyse, who is now 4 years old and 2 brothers, Tim who is now 11 years old and Tristan, whom she has never met , who is 2 years old.

Mommy, Daddy- BB, Timmy, Elyse and Tristan