An infant was saved by the quick actions of paramedics who work on a specialized kids’ mobile intensive care unit.
Hours into Maddux Lentz's life, she began having seizures.
Her local hospital in Fernandina Beach didn’t have the equipment to treat her.
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Maddux, who is now 3, is known to many as Maddy.
She loves when her parents, Toby and Robin Lentz, read to her.
Maddy’s parents said they don’t take the small things for granted after she went from being a healthy newborn to being on the brink of death.
Toby Lentz said he knew something was wrong when the hospital didn’t have the right equipment.
“I knew something was wrong when I walked into that situation, where you put your five-day-old baby girl on a bed that’s meant for a full grown person. It was obvious we needed to take her somewhere else,” he said.
Maddy was rushed to Wolfson Children's Hospital in the Kids Kare Mobile ICU, an advanced mobile vehicle that brings the ER and the ICU to patients.
“Sometimes starting certain medications or interventions does buy them time and improves their outcomes,” Andrew McGinty, nurse manager of Emergency Department and Kids Kare program, said.
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The cross-trained paramedics who treated Maddy said they remember when she stopped breathing a few miles from the hospital.
They said they had to pull off the interstate to intubate or she’d die.
Danny Ray was one of the people who treated her.
He said the ambulance was in shambles after they were able to resuscitate her.
“I remember when we were done, her mom opened up the back door to sit with us, and there were drugs and trash everywhere. It kinda looked like a war zone,” he said.
Robin Lentz believes these cross-trained paramedics had the tools and knowledge to help save her daughter’s life.
“The hospital is only so great if you can get there, and the unit is what gets people there,” Robin Lentz said.
IV pumps, ventilators and defibrillators are all on board this Kids Kare Mobile ICU to help transport infants and children who are in critical condition.
The mobile unit transports 1,000 children in critical condition per year.
“We can help kids and families really in times of crisis. And really have great outcomes,” said McGinty.
Maddy was in the hospital for 21 days after she was diagnosed with viral meningitis. When you see her now, you’d never know she had a rough start in life.
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The Lentz family said they’ll be forever grateful to know this mobile ICU was key in giving their daughter a second chance.
“You wouldn’t be sitting here seeing a beautiful 3-year-old little girl if the unit had not come up and saved her life,” said Toby Lentz.
Each year, a thousand children will ride in this bus. The paramedics told us this unit improves the odds of their survival.
“The stories like Maddy’s, I hope are what makes it worth while for them,” said Robin Lentz.
The Women’s Board of Wolfson Children’s Hospital raises all the money for these mobile ICUs through two annual events.
The Art and Antiques Show which is held the first weekend of December and the Florida Forum speaker series in January and March.