Noel Johns

Hi , my name is Jennifer. My one year old daughter was just fine March 17-18-19 of the year 2021. I woke up March 20th to a nightmare. “Mommmm,” Noel said my daughter. I’m coming pup I said. I would call her all type of silly names, Pretty girl, pup, pretty princess. She was my everything. Well as that happened I picked her up, didn’t think anything of it. Until I put her down for her to go in the cabinet to get her cookies, she would do it every morning.

She wasn’t looking inside she was just looking up staring at me. That wasn’t like Noel. So I picked her up again, “what happened Noel what’s wrong pup,” I said. She then vomited. It has to be a bug/or a stomach virus I thought. So as that happened I given her some apple juice in her bottle, she wasn’t drinking it. She moved the bottle out of her face with her hands, 10 mins passed she then vomited again a clear substance. When I looked up at her to see if she was ok, Noel’s lips were blue and purple. I started to scream, I panicked.

I was screaming for my husband to call 911, “Take her outside!!!! Take her outside for air hurry,” Archie said. I did that. As he was on phone with ambulance they told us put her on a flat surface and push her chin up. Ok I did that. The ambulance walks in after 5 mins. Took her blood sugar it was then at 219. Why is it so high I said is that normal? It can be they replied, if she drank apple juice as mentioned. She didn’t even drink barely I said, she just woke up when this all happened.

They then asked me questions. Did she eat cigarettes?  “No,“ I responded. Medications? No, I responded. Any type of liquids or under the cabinet? No,  I responded. Can we stop wasting time and go now please ? She’s not waking up, I said. I ran outside with my slippers not even remembering I had no shoes on. My head was 100 different places.

As I’m in the ambulance I’m repeating in my head “she’s going to be ok god, please let her be ok” over and over till I finally get to the hospital. We then arrived at a hospital in Arizona. As we got there it took over 6-7 hours for blood test lactate pH levels, but they given her antibiotics right away and IV fluids. I’m now in the ICU and don’t understand what’s happening.

The doctor walks in and says “she’s very very sick.“ how? I responded, what do you mean she’s sick maybe it’s just a bug? “No,” he responded, “it’s not a bug.” Maybe she’s a diabetic? No, the doctor said, she isn’t. We would’ve picked that up with no problem.

Then what is happening! “We don’t know, they said.” I hated those words, we don’t know and I’m not sure what caused this. I then found out 11 hours later Noel has multi organ failure, her body was shutting down all in the matter of hours. Her lactate was at a 10 her pH at 6.0 which is not good. Only if I knew the word “sepsis, can this be sepsis?” Maybe I could’ve saved her. Noel got transferred to children’s hospital after for better care, the doctors said. I didn’t understand what that was so I did my research and didn’t like what I saw. There’s no way I told doctors she had HLH she was fine my daughter was fine ! What happened she was just fine laughing and dancing couple days ago how can this be with 0 signs nothing, no cry of pain nothing. How did this happen? “We don’t know,” doctors said. “We’re so sorry.”

Noel eventually was getting better. But then no longer any brain activity. She was gone 10 long days in hospital Noel was no longer with me. I felt lost she was my shadow my heart my everything how did this happen. The doctors then called me 5 months later and mentioned the word “sepsis“ after Noel’s HLH genetic testing came back negative. Sepsis how? Infection – only if I knew she had a infection I would’ve took her for a checkup. Never knew, and I blame myself everyday for that. I love and miss her very much. Sepsis is a evil thing. And should be treated within less than a hour act fast! But it took so many hours and maybe that caused this to happen, only if I knew the word “sepsis” maybe I could’ve done something to prevent this.

Noel will always be in my heart and it’s been 5 months since her passing she was only 1 years old a sweet innocent beautiful kind entertainer dancer singer and so smart for her age. She was special love you Noel
Xoxo mom

Source: Jennifer, Noel's mother