Children's of Mississippi Kid Captain of the Week: Stennis Miller
October 26, 2016 | Football
Kid Captain is a partnership between Children's of Mississippi and the Mississippi State Bulldogs to honor pediatric patients and celebrate their inspirational stories. Their strength and determination reminds us how truly courageous these young people are. We are pleased to introduce this week's Children's of Kid Captain!
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Stennis Miller – Starkville, MS
One afternoon in September 2010, Stennis started running a fever that led to a sleepless night in pain. Stennis' mother, JuQuitta Ferguson-Docher, thought her son was having an all-too-familiar pain crisis brought on by his sickle cell disease. When local doctors confirmed this was something much more serious, they sent Stennis by ambulance to Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson.
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After he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), test results showed Stennis had meningitis, a staph infection, accumulated pneumonia, and a yeast infection in his lungs. He was no longer breathing on his own and needed more than six pints of blood. His liver and kidneys shut down, and the extra fluid in his body made him more than twice his normal weight. Â
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Weeks later, Stennis woke up with his eyes crossed, his mouth twisted, unable to speak or function on his left side. On top of it all, Stennis endured a series of strokes that caused brain damage. –But… he was alive. Over the next several weeks, Stennis slowly progressed and was able to move from the PICU to a floor where he began physical and speech therapy. He regained feeling in his left side, successfully rode a therapy tricycle, and even sang nursery rhymes with ease.Â
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By Thanksgiving he was talking, walking and running. Today, Stennis is a happy 9-year-old. "… actively doing all the little boy things he wouldn't have been able to do if it weren't for Batson Children's Hospital," says JuQuitta. "I'm forever grateful."
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About Children's of Mississippi
With Mississippi's only children's hospital plus clinics statewide, Children's of Mississippi is here for every Mississippi kid. Children's of Mississippi is a part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. To learn more, visit mississippikids.org.
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Stennis Miller – Starkville, MS
One afternoon in September 2010, Stennis started running a fever that led to a sleepless night in pain. Stennis' mother, JuQuitta Ferguson-Docher, thought her son was having an all-too-familiar pain crisis brought on by his sickle cell disease. When local doctors confirmed this was something much more serious, they sent Stennis by ambulance to Batson Children's Hospital in Jackson.
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After he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), test results showed Stennis had meningitis, a staph infection, accumulated pneumonia, and a yeast infection in his lungs. He was no longer breathing on his own and needed more than six pints of blood. His liver and kidneys shut down, and the extra fluid in his body made him more than twice his normal weight. Â
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Weeks later, Stennis woke up with his eyes crossed, his mouth twisted, unable to speak or function on his left side. On top of it all, Stennis endured a series of strokes that caused brain damage. –But… he was alive. Over the next several weeks, Stennis slowly progressed and was able to move from the PICU to a floor where he began physical and speech therapy. He regained feeling in his left side, successfully rode a therapy tricycle, and even sang nursery rhymes with ease.Â
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By Thanksgiving he was talking, walking and running. Today, Stennis is a happy 9-year-old. "… actively doing all the little boy things he wouldn't have been able to do if it weren't for Batson Children's Hospital," says JuQuitta. "I'm forever grateful."
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About Children's of Mississippi
With Mississippi's only children's hospital plus clinics statewide, Children's of Mississippi is here for every Mississippi kid. Children's of Mississippi is a part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. To learn more, visit mississippikids.org.
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