When you hear parents wish that their babies are born with 10 fingers and 10 toes, you tend to think of it as an expression, or just a way to wish for good health for their baby. Unfortunately, the outcome is very real, and it’s the reality that little Taylor Marshall had to face when coming into this world.
Taylor was born with devastating meningitis that would claim majority of his hand, his left leg and the remaining toes on his right leg.
As a newborn, he was happy and healthy. At 8-months-old, however, Taylor grew ill and was taken to the hospital where he would be maintained for quite some time. He was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia. As a result, the doctors placed him in a medical coma for about 17 days!
The condition was so severe that, at one point, doctors claimed that the boy would have only hours to live.
Source: Terri Lewsley
Terri Lewsley, his mother, said in an interview with TODAY , “We had him christened and all the family came in to say goodbye. There were a lot of prayers being said.”
Doctors proceeded to claim his limbs through amputation to counteract the meningitis. In all, they took his left leg, all of his fingers and the toes on his remaining leg after gangrene set in and turned all those areas black.
While the situation seems tragic, and that all hope was lost, little Taylor wouldn’t give up so easily. He spent the next seven months in the hospital in recovery, but has since made leaps and bounds towards being a normal toddler!
“He is back to being a normal toddler, really. It’s not changed his personality. Since his recovery and being back home, he’s gone back to himself. He plays and laughs. He’s a really happy little boy,” his mother told TODAY.
Taylor’s fighting spirit helped him to recover faster than the doctors had projected. So fast that he was able to get fitted for a prosthetic limb to help him learn to walk like other children his age.
Nowadays, Taylor receives physical therapy about once a week, but he’s done something that no one thought he would at this rate: began to walk!
Source: Terri Lewsley
“He can actually walk with you by holding your hand,” Lewsley said in her interview. “It’s amazing considering everything he’s been through.”
With the help of his mother and through physical therapy, Taylor is on the road to reclaiming the time he lost and having the opportunity to have a normal life. His situation may be tragic, but it goes to show you that the fighting spirit exists in all of us…no matter what age.
Source: Terri Lewsley
While he’ll need more surgeries, and constant physical therapy, Taylor Marshall’s tory is an inspiration to us all. His fighting spirit, and his mother’s dedication to helping him recover can teach us all that we can conquer whatever adversities life throws our way.
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