When Quinn Mackridge was 16 days old, she spiked a fever of 105 degrees.

Her parents rushed her to a Syracuse area hospital from Phoenix, N.Y., and not long after they arrived, hospital staff there sent Quinn by ambulance to a brand new hospital for children: Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, which opened just a few weeks earlier in 2009.

The hospital was so new that Quinn’s mother, Sarah Mackridge, had never heard of it and Quinn became one of its first patients on Floor 12E.

Quinn was diagnosed with viral meningitis and would remain in the hospital for five days.

“If we hadn’t gone there, I don’t know she would be here today,” Mackridge said.

Today, Quinn is a healthy high school sophomore and Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital celebrates its 15^th anniversary.

Mackridge said Quinn’s illness was terrifying. Meningitis is an inflammation (swelling) of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Babies younger than one month old are most likely to have severe illness if they get viral meningitis. Quinn had a fever for several days and a rash covered her entire body.

“She was a sick, sick little baby,” Sarah said. “It went from zero to horrible overnight. It was terrifying.”

Mackridge said so many things make Golisano special. In addition to the expert care the doctors and nurses gave to the patients, she said they took care of her whole family. She slept in Quinn’s room, where the nurses tended to her needs as well, bringing her coffee and sitting with Quinn so she could shower, eat, or just go outside for a much-needed breath of fresh air.

Doctors and nurses took the time to explain in detail everything that was going on with Quinn and everything they were doing.

“There was never a step of the way where I was unsure why or how they were doing things,” she said.

Quinn went home with a clean bill of health but returned when she was a toddler due to seizure activity attributed to the meningitis. She outgrew the seizures and is now a healthy and active 15-year-old high honors student at Phoenix High School and a championship Irish dancer.

Mackridge’s younger daughter, Ivy, has also been a patient at Golisano with kidney and respiratory issues. She’s had surgery to help drainage in her kidneys and has been admitted a handful of times for her health issues.

“We are eternally grateful because they saved both our girls,” Mackridge said. “We couldn’t be more thankful.”

Mackridge remembers staff putting the finishing touches on things when Quinn was there, and years later, Ivy has made use of some of those special touches such as the room filled with toys and games, the library and the ability to keep up with schoolwork while hospitalized.

As the hospital celebrates its 15th anniversary, Mackridge continues to sing its praises and support its fundraising efforts.

“I like to tell people as much as I can about it,” she said, “so that people are aware of this amazing gift that is right at our doorstep.”

Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital opened for patients Sept. 23, 2009.  Tom Golisano contributed the naming gift for the hospital, bringing the community fundraising campaign to more than $21 million.

Caption: Quinn Mackridge, at 16 days old with viral meningitis, left, and today, at  15-year-old honor roll high school student.