Just before the holiday, country singer Jimmie Allen took to Twitter to vent his frustration over a scary series of hospital visits for his one-month-old daughter, Zara James, lashing out against a system which seemed to keep the little girl in danger. But now Allen’s wife, Alexis, has updated followers on Instagram, and thankfully the baby is recovering at home.
The saga began when both Zara and the Allens’ other daughter, 20-month-old Naomi, apparently came down with a cough. In a series of Tweets, the country singer lashed out at being sent home from local hospitals multiple times without a diagnosis, which led to a frightening scene. Zara eventually had trouble breathing and lost color in her face, and we now know the baby had an RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), as Alexis detailed in her post.
“Time has slowed down for me this past week. I’ve been able to be present and more aware of the things around me,” she wrote. “You never really think about the bad days you may go through with a child until you’re right in those moments.”
Alexis went on to explain that Zara woke up late one night as the family traveled on Allen’s tour bus, and would not stop coughing. The family eventually pulled over and called 911, and the mother was careful to praise first responders, nurses, doctors and medical staff who she said saved Zara’s life. She also included a handful of photos documenting the scary time, including candid shots of Zara hooked up to monitoring equipment and Allen sleeping beside his newborn in the hospital.
“Thank you for continuing to find answers and providing amazing care to my baby,” Alexis wrote.
It all took place at a busy time for Allen, who is arguably one of the genre’s hottest rising stars. As the drama unfolded, he was nominated for his first Grammy award in the all-genre Best New Artist award, and also took part in the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade just a few days later. This past weekend (November 27-28), he hit the stage with crossover hip hop star Nelly for the first dates of their ongoing tour, and Allen also just finished a run on ABC’s most recent Dancing With the Stars season, making it to week 8 before bowing out.