Tyerria

My daughter, Tyerria Bryant, is known as the miracle baby of our family. She is the only one in our family who was born prematurely and diagnosed with hydrocephalus. Tyerria was born in June of 1999, at 36 weeks, weighing only 3 pounds and 6 ounces. After her birth, all her vitals and tests were normal. All      she had to do was gain up to five pounds, and we would be able to take her home. However, on the fourth day, right after I was discharged from the hospital, her father and I received a call to come back to the hospital because Tyerria had stopped breathing. We were heartbroken by the shocking news, as she went from being fine to needing CPR and being placed on life support. With the hospital two hours away from our home, we found ourselves praying out of fear and despair, rather than hope, that our baby girl would be alright.

When we arrived at the hospital, we were asked numerous questions about our family’s medical history. We had to give permission for her to undergo various tests, including brain imaging and other tests I can’t recall. After two days of testing, the doctors discovered that she had meningitis, which had affected her spine and the ventricles in her brain. She was immediately admitted to NICU and started on antibiotics. Her meningitis was a result of contracting the flu during the first trimester of my pregnancy, which allowed the infection to enter her bloodstream.

Tyerria underwent four weeks of treatment, but ultimately required a shunt due to acquiring hydrocephalus as a complication of meningitis. The surgery to insert the shunt was successful.  Alongside her antibiotic regimen, she required weight gain until reaching five pounds before discharge. After returning home, we made three weekly trips for physical therapy (PT) and diligently implement intensive home therapy to help increase her motor skills, sucking and kicking abilities, and overall movements, ensuring she could lead a similar life to her peers. Her therapy schedule kept her constantly moving between sessions, and we also used vitamins to help increase her weight gain. In the following months, Tyerria began to gain weight and develop her motor skills and movements. She was almost in the same range as her peers, or toddlers in her age range.

In 2008, she had to undergo a shunt revision, but since then, she has not had any problems with her shunt. She continued to fight, strive, and make progress in her development and movement, growing into a strong, independent young lady. She consistently performed at an average level compared to her peers in school, excelling in her growth, intellect, achievements, head circumference, and movement. She learned to fall and get back up, and could be found singing and playfully fighting with her cousins. However, her true passion was dancing, and she joined local dance companies, which she continued to do until her high school graduation in 2017.

Today, Tyerria is a vibrant, creative entrepreneur and proud graduate student. Following her graduation from Starkville High School, she enrolled in Mississippi State University in August 2017, and earned her bachelor’s degree in educational psychology in November 2020. In 2023, she obtained her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from the University of West Alabama and began her career as a mental health counselor at a public elementary school. Our miracle baby is now a young woman who has been truly blessed and remains steadfast.

In 2023, I wrote a book titled “Hope to Hydro-Cephalus,” which narrates Tyerria’s journey from conception to confinement, birth, diagnosis, and treatments. This book can be found on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, and other websites.

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