“We’d never experienced anything so scary, but they reassured us, answered our questions, and just made us feel at home.”
On a Friday, 1-year-old Julia Gibson of Freehold had a slight cough. By Monday, she was in CentraState Medical Center’s Emergency Department
Few things are more frightening than a dramatic change in your child’s health. At the beginning of the weekend, Julia’s cough hadn’t seemed like much, but on Saturday, her mother, Dawn, noticed that Julia’s cough had gotten deeper and her nose had started running. Although she didn’t have a fever, her primary care physician recommended Tylenol® to fight the symptoms of her illness.
“Throughout Sunday, Julia’s breathing was really fast, and she wouldn’t go to sleep at night, so I took her to her pediatrician first thing Monday morning,” Dawn says. “The staff there performed breathing treatments and gave her a steroid shot.”
When there was no improvement in Julia’s condition, her mother took her to CentraState’s Emergency Department. With an IV in her little arm, Julia was quite frightened, but the staff at CentraState knew how to comfort her.
“I met with Julia and Dawn and told them I believed Julia had bacterial pneumonia,” says Neha Shah, MD, board-certified pediatrician with Central Jersey Emergency Medicine Associates and on staff at CentraState. “We ran some tests and confirmed the diagnosis.”
Julia stayed at CentraState from Monday until Wednesday. Although her temperature was constantly fluctuating, her gradual improvement was marked.
“Everyone at the hospital was so nice, from Dr. Shah to all the nurses who came in often to check on Julia,” Dawn recalls. “We’d never experienced anything so scary, but they reassured us, answered our questions, and just made us feel at home.”
Now, Julia is healthy, and walking all over the place. She even enjoyed a recent trip to Disney World.
To find a pediatrician in NJ, visit our physician finder.
