SALT LAKE CITY — Utah healthcare providers are warning the public about a COVID-19-related complication that can occur in children.
"While most of the severe illnesses, and deaths, have occurred in adults, children are still experiencing complications related to COVID-19, the most serious of which is known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C),"a news release from Intermountain Healthcare said.
An Intermountain Healthcare web page about MIS-C describes the condition as rare and non-contagious, but the condition causes some children to become very ill.
"The condition causes dangerous swelling (inflammation) in the body and can lead to problems with the heart or other organs," the web page says.
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On Monday, a 12-year-old girl named Madeline spoke to reporters about her experience with MIS-C. According to Intermountain Healthcare, Madeline spent four days in an intensive care unit and she nearly died.
"I woke up and I had a really bad headache and just body aches all over. And then, like two to three days later, I couldn't walk and I wouldn't eat. And then I started getting rashes all over my body and that's when I knew that it wasn't like normal sickness. And then I just woke up and I couldn't move at all," Madeline said.
Madeline lives in a rural southwestern Wyoming community where social distancing is much easier to practice than in urban areas. Thus, Madeline and her family thought they were relatively safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Madeline hopes her story will help persuade others to wear masks and follow other COVID-19 safety measures.
In Utah, COVID-19 has claimed more than 700 lives.
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