It’s a bubbles and banners day. Amaiyah is going home!
It was a jubilant day for little Amaiyah Hill.
The 20-month-old girl with big brown eyes was leaving Akron Children’s after a 152-day hospitalization and heading home – and without tracheostomy or ventilator dependence.
Care providers from all areas of the hospital came for final hugs, to make some noise, blow bubbles, hold signs and wish her the best. They had certainly seen Amaiyah and her family through some dark days.
Amaiyah’s need for emergency care began with a fateful few seconds during bathtime on Sept. 23, 2024. Mom, Stephanie Hill, was preparing dinner and Amaiyah’s older siblings were supervising her bath. But, in the blink of an eye, Amaiyah got her hands on a bottle of baby oil and began to drink it.
The older kids immediately told Stephanie what had happened, and she called the Poison Control hotline. Their best guess is that she consumed 1-2 ounces of oil.
“Poison Control said to look out for signs that she might be in respiratory distress,” Stephanie said. “Later in the night, I noticed she was having labored breathing and developed a fever. I took her to the nearest ER. They began tests, which looked OK, so they sent us home.”
The next morning, she wasn’t improving so Stephanie took her back to the ER. They said to follow up with her pediatrician. A few days later, at that appointment, the pediatrician consulted with Akron Children’s main campus. Stephanie was advised to bring Amaiyah to the hospital for more tests. That’s when she was admitted.
Mom, Stephanie Hill, with Amaiyah, in her hospital room a day before her discharge.
“After a few days, things were not getting better. She was admitted to the pediatric critical care unit (PICU), where she spent quite some time,” Stephanie said. “Around October, her heart rate was escalating and they had to intubate her and put her in a medically induced coma.”
Dr. Heather Brandt, a pediatric pulmonologist who has cared for Amaiyah, said her lungs treated the baby oil as a “foreign body” and responded by attacking it.
“You then get an overreaction of inflammation. In Amaiyah’s case, it has led to scarring and even fibrosis,” said Dr. Brandt.
The lowest point came when it looked like Amaiyah might need to be transported to another hospital for a double lung transplant.
“We started the process of having insurance cover the transplant, and Amaiyah just started getting better and better,” said Stephanie. “From that point on, she didn’t look back. We started strategically weaning her off medicines, and she was on a lot of them. She had six machines to monitor all of the medicines she was on.”
Stephanie, who has put her faith in God during this crisis, said Amaiyah has been an inspiration to caregivers in all parts of the hospital – the PICU, the transitional care unit (7100) and the rehab team.
“She is so smart, a blessing to everyone on all of those floors,” she said. “She’s sassy and it’s a really a miracle how far she’s come.”
Dr. Brandt said Akron Children’s Emergency Room sees accidental ingestions of all kinds of things that can be risky for babies and toddlers, from pills in grandma’s purse to all types of household products.
“Honestly, this was just a bad, freak accident that I think everyone can learn from,” she said. “It can happen in seconds if you look away to grab something, and you think everything is safe. They have been the most loving and devoted parents through this. I can only imagine the heartbreak they’ve gone through and the roller coaster of emotions. But, now to see them have their girl back – that is my favorite part of this job.”
Dr. Brandt says Amaiyah will need oxygen at night and will wear an air clearance vest several times a day to keep mucus from settling into her lungs. She will be much more vulnerable to viruses.
But she is also hoping that, as Amaiyah grows, her healthy new lung tissue will help compensate for the scarred areas.
Stephanie gets hugs and best wishes from Amaiyah’s providers in pediatric pulmonology and critical care.
While Stephanie and Amaiyah’s siblings – Braylen, Jazmyne, Caleb and Charli – will all have some caregiving duties they didn’t have prior to the accident, they are more than excited to have their youngest home and reunited with her stuffed animals and Fisher-Price Little People.
“I’m just excited to see her get reacquainted with her siblings, roam the house free and be her bossy little self again,” said Stephanie. “It’s been almost a half year! We’ve missed her dearly.”
Amaiyah, held by dad, Jonathan, and flanked by her mom, far left, and siblings, poses for a final photo before leaving the hospital for home. She’s been a patient at Akron Children’s since September.
Unfazed by all the noise and excitement around her!
