A four-year-old boy is recovering after suffering from a rare COVID-related illness, and now his parents are speaking out to warn other families.
The boy's mother Aften Ford, her husband, and the couple's young children recovered from coronavirus back in November, and believed the worst for their family was behind them, reported Syracuse.com
One month later, however, the family from Madison, New York found themselves back in the hospital after one of their sons became sick again.
Young Kaison, 4, was brought to the emergency room with high fever, bloodshot eyes, cracked lips, a rash, and stomach problems.
Doctors initially believed he had strep throat but later diagnosed him with a rare complication of COVID, known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, according to the outlet.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists MIS-C as a "condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs." While it is unknown what causes the condition, many children who have had MIS-C also had COVID-19, the CDC says.
Kaison’s condition continued to decline and he was admitted to Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital on January 2. The young boy developed signs of pneumonia in his lungs.
“It was beyond scary,’' his mom said. “It didn’t all come at once – it was progressive. It started with a headache, then his face got blotchy, then his eyes got disturbingly red. He had bright red, cracked and sore lips, a swollen tongue and a bit of a rash.”
After a grueling five days in the hospital filled with several pediatricians and multiple emergency room visits, Kaison was able to reunite with his two siblings at home.
“He’s not himself yet,’' his mom said.
For the next few months, Kaison will have to see a lot of specialists including a cardiologist and infectious disease doctor to ensure he has no lasting organ damage, according to the local outlet.
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The family is sharing their story to warn other parents of the danger COVID-19 poses to young children, despite early beliefs that the virus had little effect on children.
“We want parents to take Covid seriously, and realize this can happen. It’s important to catch this early, so it can be treated,” said Aften, who works as a sixth-grade teacher.
“We were skeptics before this, and believed we should get all the kids back in school,’' she said. “But now we feel different.”
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