Amanda

Amanda's symptoms came on suddenly. She was transferred to Phoenix Children's where doctors diagnosed her with Lemierre's syndrome, a severe illness caused by the bacteria "fusobacterium nechrophorum."

Lemierre's syndrome usually occurs in healthy young adults, originating in the throat with the formation of a blood clot in the jugular vein. The blood clot can break off, spread through the blood stream and infect the lungs, joints and bones. If not diagnosed, Lemierre's syndrome can cause death in weeks or even days.

How has your illness affected your life?

I now plan to be a pediatric nurse and look forward to coming back to Phoenix Children's as a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nurse. I want to give back a little of what I so graciously received. I plan to go to University of Arizona in the nursing program.

How long were you hospitalized?

I was at Phoenix Children's for a total of five weeks over a seven week period. I spent two weeks in the PICU and had six surgeries in five weeks.

What is your favorite thing about Phoenix Children's?

The staff, especially the nurses, and how helpful and friendly they are. The private rooms in the PICU were good too. I guess the food is good compared to most hospitals I'm told…but I've never been in a hospital prior to this.

What is the most difficult aspect of your hospitalization?

Being so weak I could hardly get out of bed for five weeks. Also, I couldn't eat much and was losing a pound every two days. I had lost 25 pounds over the five weeks.

How did it affect your day-to-day life?

I missed my last month of my sophomore year in school, including the finals. The school was great and let me make up the work and tests over the summer so I could get credit for the year. It took me until after school started the next year before I had them all completed.

Is there an aspect of care at Phoenix Children's that really stands out in your mind?

[answered by Julie, Amanda's mom]. Having all of the specialists available on demand was especially important to our situation. The emergencies that we experienced initially would not have allowed for time to call in the specialists. We understand how truly amazing and skilled the doctors at Phoenix Children's are and we are forever grateful for their knowledge and experience.  We know that is why Amanda is still with us. The nurses are what helped us get through the day-to-day of hospital life. They were always available and very helpful in explaining what was going on. This was all so new to us as we have luckily been a very healthy family until this terrible ordeal started.

How did this change your outlook on life?

I can't look at the past and what could have happened. And I can't look too far into the future. I just take things day-by-day now.