Three-year-old Brooklyn loves to get her hands dirty. When it comes to playtime this spunky and vivacious toddler shies away from tiaras and princess garb and heads straight for her overalls.

“Brooklyn is adventurous, curious, and loves dirt, mud and paint,” said Kristen, Brooklyn’s Mom. “We have an art room, and she has a blast with paint in there.”

Though the tiny finger painter and mud-pie maker loves all-things mucky, her passion for excavation and exploration was recently put on hold.

Soon after Brooklyn’s third birthday, sudden bouts of intense stomach pain and vomiting became frequent.

“She vomited around 9 a.m., then again at noon, and from then she threw up about every 20 minutes,” recalls Mom, a nurse at her local hospital.

Brooklyn was quickly seen by her pediatrician who believed the toddler had a viral illness. He prescribed anti-nausea/vomit medication and recommended Pedialyte  to prevent dehydration.

The hope was the pain and vomiting would pass. Unfortunately, it didn’t. In fact, it worsened.

“The next few days involved episodes of awful vomiting and contorting discomfort to the point she would just pass out,” says Kristen.

Brooklyn needed specialized emergency attention. …