A bumpy start ends on a high note for newborn August Koch

Bringing your newborn baby home from the hospital is a happy and momentous occasion. Tiny booties, frequent feedings and diaper changes, sleep adjustments and more are highlighted with warm snuggles, gentle kisses and family bonding time. But for the Sundquist-Koch family, the happiness associated with those first few days as a new family took a sharp and unexpected turn soon after their son August Koch arrived home from the hospital. At the tender age of 2 weeks old, August spiked a fever and needed to be seen at Beverly Hospital’s pediatric emergency department. Fortunately for August (and his very nervous parents Kate and Simon), Boston Children’s pediatric-trained physicians were on staff to make sure he received the care he needed. “I was worried but I was also very grateful that we were right where we needed to be to care for our son,” says Kate. With the fear of infection looming due to his ongoing fever, Karen Gruskin, MD, a Boston Children’s pediatric emergency medicine physician and Medical Director of Hospital Partnerships for Boston Children’s Hospital, ordered blood, urine and spinal fluid testing and placed August, weighing just 9.5 lbs, on intravenous (IV) antibiotics as a precaution. Twenty-four hours later, test results showed August had bacterium in his blood stream caused by a staph infection. Kate and Simon were told their newborn baby could not go home and needed to be admitted to Beverly Hospital for at least 6 to 10 days for treatment. “A...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: All posts Beverly Hospital our patients' stories Source Type: news