Braylee, however, has neutropenia, or a very low count of neutrophilis, a type of white blood cell that helps fight infections, especially those caused by bacteria and fungi. Many children with her type of neutropenia outgrow it by the age of 5 or 6, said Melissa Harper. In the meantime, Braylee’s condition requires the Harpers to keep an extremely clean household.

So on Friday, with tap water unusable, “we needed to get immediate attention for what she was trying to fight,” said Harper, 32, who studies nursing at Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College in South Charleston.

The Women’s and Children’s Hospital was almost empty that morning. A doctor saw them quickly, and they left within 90 minutes. Braylee, familiar with the hospital because of her illness, and accompanied by Violet, her stuffed plush dog, remained calm and well behaved.

“We were more scared than she was,” her mother said.

Braylee’s fever broke Friday afternoon, but the Harpers were at a disadvantage in their battle against bacteria. The water restrictions meant that instead of using hot tap water for cleaning, the Harpers had to haul water from a public tank and boil it on their stove before they could use it.

On Monday evening, as safe water trickled back into homes in the affected area, Harper remained upset that the chemical company, Freedom Industries, may have taken several hours Thursday before reporting the leak to communities that depend on water from the Elk River.

By the time the public found out, Harper said, she and her family had drunk tap water and eaten food prepared with it. Thus she won’t rule out the possibility that contaminated water played a role in her daughter’s sudden illness, saying, “It’s an odd coincidence.”

Harper said Freedom Industries put the public at risk with the placement of its storage tanks.

“What makes me the most angry about this crisis is that this chemical plant was allowed to be located on our water system and had not taken the proper precautions to make sure this didn't happen,” she said. “Also, the lack of communication. This happened at 10 a.m. on Thursday, and it was after 6 before we were told to stop using the water. I know we drank that water all day.”

Although her husband has a good job at the local Napa Auto Parts store, she bristles at the “added expenses we are incurring, replacing the filter on the refrigerator (and) buying additional cases of water beyond what we would normally purchase.”