Benefit for MaeLynn Taylor

On the night of September 9th, MaeLynn woke up inconsolably fussy and slightly warm. By 4am on September 10th,MaeLynn woke up with a 104 fever inconsolably fussy and screamed anytime she was touched. At this point her mother, Adrian Taylor, was very concerned and took her to Urgent Care in Dyersburg as soon as it opened. When they arrived, MaeLynn still had a fever and was sore to touch. Urgent Care ran multiple tests, which all came back negative. They were then recommended to take her to the hospital to rule out any viral infections. Adrian and Brett then took MaeLynn to Jackson Madison County General Hospital where they were told she had Adenovirus and was sent home. Adrian did not feel comfortable with those results. On September 11th around 8:00 am, Adrian took her to her pediatrician at Reelfoot Walk-in Clinic. Where they recommended LeBonheur Children's Hospital immediately. Adrian and Brett arrived at LeBonheur around 1 pm and got her into the ER. They called them into a small room so they could start taking her vitals. It was at this point everything started to feel like a blur and got scary quick for Adrian and Brett. Her temperature was very high, and her heart rate was also high. Her skin started to turn yellowish, and she broke out in a rash from head to toe right before their eyes within seconds. They rushed them into a trauma room where about 8 nurses and doctors started to work on her. They started an IV, inserted a catheter, ran an EKG, took blood, and so much more. Once they ran all their tests, they sat there and waited for the next step. They did X-rays to rule out any breaks in her shoulder or arm, did a CT scan on her, and even mentioned an MRI. At this point, one of the doctors came in and told them they were being admitted to the hospital.

They started her on very harsh antibiotics which treated a variety of infections due to them not knowing exactly what it was at the time. She eventually got an MRI on her shoulder and they told them they found an abscess on her tricep. They took her directly to the OR to operate. After removing 31 mL of pus, they sent it off to get tested and confirm what exactly the infection was. Eventually the infectious disease team confirmed she has MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) and that she tested negative for adenovirus. They were informed that they arrived at the hospital just in time. When they assessed her in trauma she was in tachycardia, sepsis, and had an extremely high fever causing her body to attack itself. The trouble didn't stop there unfortunately. After surgery, her fevers still occurred and her white blood cell count wasn't where the medical staff wanted it to be. Her CRP levels were still high so they wanted to go in and clean her incision site and take another culture. Since then (as of 9/20/23), MaeLynn has still been fighting fevers, harsh rashes, and has had 3 procedures, multiple IVs and tests performed with still no for sure answers on what caused this or when they will be able to come home.

As we all know, hospital bills can be very expensive and household bills are still coming in. Dyer County Communications is coming together with other local businesses to raise money for these expenses. Join us for a benefit on September 30th for a chili cookoff, silent auction, cake walk, and a gun auction to help us raise money to help this family during this very difficult time. Please keep MaeLynn and her sweet family in your thoughts and prayers.