- Children infected with Covid-19, whether mild or severe, are at risk of developing MIS-C (a life-threatening syndrome).
- 15-year-old Abie Martinez has a mild Covid-19 case in 2020, and he shared his story about the loss of heart and kidney function.
- “This is a terrible experience,” his mother said.
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Last December, 15-year-old Abie Martinez (Abie Martinez) was infected with Covid-19, which is no big deal.
“It was just a little cough, and then I lost my sense of taste and smell,” he said, “I recovered soon.”
After the infection subsided, he continued his daily routine: going to the gym about 3 times a week and going to school in person. It was not until more than a month later, on January 25, 2021, that he began to feel a strange, severe pain in his left leg and neck.
“Every time I do something, my shoulder hurts,” he said. “It hurts to stand up all the way.”
Abby didn’t know it at the time, but he has developed Multiple system inflammatory syndrome in children, MIS-C. This is an extremely rare disease that seems to mainly affect children after being infected or exposed to Covid-19. Although this is not common — 4,100 cases of MIS-C in children have been counted in the United States since the pandemic began — doctors urge children and parents to pay attention, this is not something that can be ignored.
The second day Abie started to have muscle soreness, he became sensitive to light and noise. On Wednesday, a big red rash appeared on the inside of his arm.
Provided by Abie’s family
His symptoms became severe within a week, including fever, diarrhea and extreme fatigue.
“My back pain was very serious, and then I kept vomiting,” he said. “My body just doesn’t work.”
“Children with the worst COVID-19 condition we have seen”
Dr. Andrew Pavia, Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Utah, said that the child infected with MIS-C after infection is “the child with the most serious illness we have seen in Covid-19”. He has seen 100 in the United States. Children during the MIS-C epidemic.
Pavia said that it is “difficult to predict who will get MIS-C” because this syndrome seems to affect children like Martinez, who are infected with very mild Covid-19, just like children who have been infected with Covid-19 As often as a more serious disease.
If left untreated, MIS-C can lead to organ failure and death.So far, at least 37 children have died of MIS-C in the U.S., Since the CDC started tracking cases in May 2020.
Experts still don’t know what caused this situation. More than half of the confirmed MIS-C cases nationwide are men (60%), and most children are black, Hispanic or Latino. According to CDC.
Provided by Abie’s family
Martinez was hospitalized for five days with severe heart problems
On Friday, five days after his initial symptoms, Martinez was taken to a medical facility. Salt Lake City Hospital, He received five days of treatment there because the doctors worked hard to stabilize his heart rate and blood pressure.
His cardiologist, Dr. Dongngan Truong, uses adrenaline and norepinephrine to regulate his blood pressure, as well as immunotherapy including steroids and mixed antibodies (IVIG).
Six months later, Martinez now feels almost back to normal, sometimes just “mild chest pain”, he said. He has been swimming this summer, and he thinks he can take part in the school’s physical education class this fall, which is something he cannot safely complete after MIS-C treatment.
He goes to the hospital for checkups every three months to make sure his heart recovers.
“It was a terrible experience,” Martinez’s mother Cendy Marquez said-describing watching his kidneys shut down and seeing his heart damaged.
“His kidneys look great, and his heart is really very, very good,” she said, although she still Encourage him not to “excessive” as he recovers.
“I kind of have to remind him because he is so young and active,” she said. “Relax.”
Provided by Abie’s family
Experts urge parents to let unvaccinated young children wear masks to school
Dr. Pavia is worried that there may be more cases like Martinez in the next few weeks, because The recent surge in pediatric COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations Nationwide.According to a new report American Academy of Pediatrics, Children now account for 19% of reported Covid-19 cases across the country, a significant increase from the cumulative average of 14.3% early in the pandemic.
“We just encourage parents not to blow things up as gastroenteritis or summer colds,” Pavia said. “We really hope that all parents are aware of this possibility.”
With initials symptom Including high fever, stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea, MIS-C is not a subtle disease.
As the Delta variant spreads, the best way to protect children when they return to face-to-face learning is to have as many eligible teachers and students as possible Vaccinated, And then put masks on everyone in the classroom to prevent the spread of diseases to young children who have not been vaccinated.
Dr. Tina Tan, a professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University, said at a recent briefing of the American Society of Infectious Diseases: “This kind of’oh, children can be infected with Covid’ idea is really a bad idea.”
“Let your child wear a mask to go to school,” she said.
