Girl, 10, battles rare syndrome in hospital
MIS-C can attack heart, lungs, kidneys, brain and gastrointestinal organs of kids
A 10-year-old B.C. girl diagnosed with COVID-19 last month is now in B.C. Children's Hospital suffering from a rare syndrome associated with the coronavirus.
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children — known as MIS-C — can attack the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain and gastrointestinal organs.
This is believed to be just the third case in B.C. this year. At first, the girl and her 12-year-old brother had relatively mild symptoms, “a slight runny nose and some fatigue,” according to a statement from her mother — identified only as Tara — released by the Facebook group B.C. School Covid Tracker. “We thought we were lucky and in the clear.”
Postmedia has not had direct contact with the family.
Nearly a month after her diagnosis, the girl developed an achy stomach, headache and her fatigue returned. A fever followed that Tara was not able to manage at home.
On Dec. 10 her family physician sent the girl to Lions Gate Hospital for a chest X-ray, which was clear, but doctors admitted the girl and moved her by ambulance to B.C. Children's Hospital.
“We took her to Lions Gate Hospital with her feeling yucky, and within an hour she was vomiting on the floor and fainting in my arms,” Tara said.
“It was determined that my baby has MIS-C, we are here until the infection runs its course and hopefully it doesn't get more severe.”
Since that time, the girl has suffered from fevers, a racing heart and low blood pressure along with inflammation in several organs.
“The first few days her heart was inflamed and we had to take some serious medication and wait to see if it worked,” Tara said. “After an unusually long time it worked, but the inflammation moved to her liver.”
The illness has continued to present itself in surprising new ways, such as a full-body rash.
The girl is currently taking a second round of antibiotics while staff check on her every 15 minutes, her mother said. “This is a roller-coaster ride I would not wish on anyone.”
Tara is urging parents to be aware of the potential for serious complications from the virus in children and to watch for symptoms well past the initial symptoms of COVID-19.
Kathy Marliss, organizer of the Facebook group, released the picture and statement on behalf of the family. Her organization acts as a central clearing house for all known cases of COVID-19 in B.C. schools.
“Tara, a parent in our B.C. School Covid Tracker Community, has come forward and messaged with us as she sits at Children's Hospital with her 10 year old sick child,” Marliss writes in an introduction. “Tara, we are sending so much love and healing vibes to your beautiful daughter and your family. Please know that we are all thinking of you and appreciate you telling your very important story.”
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