Nicole and Shane Sifrit of Iowa had their baby on July 1, 2017. They were married less than a week later on July 7th.
Their entires lives seemed to be ahead of them until their life took an unexpected and solemn turn.
Now, these parents are warning others to be strict when it comes to who comes in contact with your newborn. Just two afters before they said “I do,” something appeared to be wrong with their little girl.
“It’s horrific,” Nicole told WQAD. “It’s one of the saddest things ever, and most of the time, I’m still in shock.”
Their daughter had stopped eating, wasn’t waking up and appeared lethargic. The Sifrit’s had to leave their own wedding and rush to a local children’s hospital.
It was there that they discovered that she had contracted meningitis HSV1, a form of meningitis caused by the herpes simplex virus.
Things took a turn for the worse when the child stopped breathing and her organs began to shut down.
“She has a kidney team, a liver team, a blood team, a neurology team,” Shane said. “I always thought this stuff happens, and it’s a shame. [I] never thought it would happen to me and [I] was not prepared at all.”
Mariana later succumbed to her illness and eventually passed away on July 18.
“Our princess Mariana Reese Sifrit gained her angel wings at 8:41 am this morning in her daddy’s arms and her mommy right beside her,” her mother wrote on Facebook. “She is now no longer suffering and is with the Lord.”
One of the worse parts of this story is that they have no idea how their child contracted meningitis.
Both of them tested negative for the virus. They suspect it may have been passed on by a visiting relative or friend who kissed or touched the baby.
“They touch her, and then she touches her mouth with her hand,” Sifrit explained,” Nicole told CNN.
It’s very rare for the virus to mutate into meningitis, however, it does happen.
Dr. Tanya Altmann, a pediatrician at Calabasas Pediatrics in California says parents need to be vigilant during the early months of their child’s life.
“The first two months after a child is born are very critical, as a virus can rapidly spread and cause serious illness in newborns,” she told CNN.
The Sifrit’s are warning others to keep their babies as isolated as they can. The parents warned not to let others kiss the baby and to wash their hands and ask before they pick the baby up.
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