Mom of Young Child Credits Inspira ER with “Saving our Daughter’s Life”

Perhaps nothing is more terrifying for a parent than seeing their child physically struggling, especially when symptoms are outside the norm of typical childhood ailments and come on suddenly.

When four-year-old Lila Gallagher vomited one night in late February 2024, her mom and dad, Jennifer and Kyle, were naturally concerned. Jennifer had been mildly ill the week before and wondered if she’d passed something on to their youngest daughter.

She took Lila’s temperature, made her comfortable, and checked on her through the night. The next morning, when Lila vomited again, became weak and lethargic, and started to have some trouble breathing, Jennifer and Kyle immediately took her to the Inspira Medical Center Vineland Emergency Department. 

Jennifer said that the first person she saw there asked her immediately, “Is Lila always this pale?” Jennifer vividly remembers what happened next. 

“As soon as I said ‘No’, we were taken right back into the pediatric ER,” she said.

The nurse on duty, Amanda Tartaglia, R.N., got Lila set up with an IV. One of the physicians on the Inspira team told Jennifer and Kyle that they were sending Lila for a CT scan while they were trying to rule out several things, including appendicitis. While the scan was underway, Lila’s breathing began to worsen. 

“Suddenly,” Jennifer said, “the ER team was everywhere.”

“They took Lila into a room and doctors and nurses just appeared!,” she said.  “Everyone was moving fast, even though it seemed like I was watching in slow motion. Pretty soon they asked us to step out of the room, but someone from Inspira - I wish I knew the person’s name - stayed with us and explained everything that was going on. That was comforting, at a time when we were terrified.”

Soon, one of the doctors came to tell them that Lila needed a blood transfusion and to have a breathing tube placed.

Jennifer said, “I immediately asked, ‘Is this cancer?’ The doctor told us that they were assessing Lila and that the best thing, once she was stabilized, would be to get her transferred to Nemours. He told us that they would ‘fast track’ her so she got the help she needed as soon as possible. We were living a nightmare, but that doctor was awesome.”

Nemours Children’s Health, in Wilmington, is Inspira’s long-time pediatric partner. 

Initial plans to transport Lila by helicopter had to be changed because of weather. Instead, a transport vehicle from Nemours took Lila to Wilmington. Jennifer was thankful that she was able to ride in the front of the vehicle, where she could see Lila and the care team on a monitor for the entire ride.

At Nemours, Lila was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. After testing, the Gallaghers were told that Lila had leukemia. She began treatment immediately. 

Now, just over 1 year later, Lila is doing well. She is undergoing chemotherapy treatment, but has been approved to travel, and is playing T-ball this spring. She is scheduled to complete her treatment in June 2026. 

Jennifer said that the care team at Nemours has been wonderful as well.

“They educate us on everything. The social worker there was excellent from day one. She made sure we had anything we needed. The oncology docs there are incredible, so sympathetic. They answered all our questions. One doctor even asked our 17-year-old daughter, Madison, if she had any specific questions about Lila or her treatment. The nurses were incredibly supportive and informative.”

Jennifer said that she and Kyle will always be grateful for the way the ER staff at Inspira Vineland treated Lila and the family at the beginning of a frightening experience.

“Everyone was terrific. They did everything they could to make it a tiny bit less scary for all of us. No one ever let us see that they were worried and that helped keep us calm. Nurse Amanda, in particular, was so compassionate. She was very quick and gentle with Lila when she needed an IV. There was no fuss. She was so very calm and she assured us that we had done the right thing by bringing Lila in. She told us we were good parents and, in that moment, that really meant a lot.”

She also cited a family friend, Inspira’s Liz Gibson, R.N., who also helped treat Lila that day.

 “She told us that many of the nurses were moms and assured us that they would keep Lila in their thoughts and prayers. The entire nursing team was amazing.  We thanked them all and hugged them. We have had to go back to the ER a few times for other family members and they always recognize us and stop to see how Lila is doing.”

The Gallagher family was so thankful, they arranged a small “reunion” with the ER team that treated Lila. The family brought donuts for the staff as a token of their gratitude and appreciation. The ER team was grateful for the opportunity to see Lila again, this time healthy and active. Thinking back to Lila’s first visit, Jennifer recalled the care and compassion of the team.   

“Everyone we spoke to that night at Inspira was awesome,” Jennifer said. “They were so open and caring and let us know that they were doing everything to give Lila the best care possible. We believe they saved Lila’s life that night. We can’t thank them enough.”