On Tuesday evening, Brantley, a 13-year-old seventh grader from Cottonwood, Alabama, became ill. His mother, Emily, noticed he was vomiting and seemed confused. He gave the wrong day when asked. Emily contacted Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. Hospital staff advised her to bring Brantley in immediately.
Emily arranged care for Brantley’s younger sibling, Tate. She, Brantley, and his grandmother left for Birmingham at 9:45 PM. They arrived at the hospital’s emergency department just after midnight. Brantley has a shunt in his brain to drain spinal fluid. Dr. Fred Pich diagnosed this condition years ago, and Brantley has had several surgeries at Children’s Hospital.
Doctors performed tests and scans to check the shunt. They found the shunt was working. Brantley’s symptoms were caused by a virus, not a shunt problem. He was discharged the next afternoon. He is now recovering at home…