Medford, Ore,. — “Couldn’t open his eyes, he could barely, he could barely move.”
Duane Pridy and Ashley Kostuchowski’s son, Landon is a happy, healthy seven year old today, but, last April in the E.R. – it was another story.
“I’d asked the one doctor, I was like you know are we gonna lose our kid? and she said you just might.” said Pridy.
The family went to the doctor when Landon developed flu like symptoms.
He was also in pain and couldn’t even open his eyes.
Duane and Ashley say their pediatrician insisted it was the flu and sent Landon home.
The couple knew something else was wrong, but decided to trust the doctor rather than their intuition.
“We’re gonna trust him, he’s a doctor, he went to college you know. And he’s been his doctor since the day he was born.”
Seven hours later they were in the emergency room, Landon had bacterial meningitis.
“He said he was gonna throw up, he got up and almost ran into the door, his left eye had completely just dropped.”
Landon was in the hospital for nine days, and had an IV for two more weeks after that.
And though he’s healthy now, the whole ordeal is something Duane and Ashley blame themselves for.
“That’s a lot that we hold on our shoulders, still to this day that we should’ve went with our gut.”
Now they’re issuing a warning to other parents…
“If you feel that something is wrong and it’s not the flu, it’s not just a cold – go get a second opinion.”
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