Despite our family’s precautions, COVID put my 6-year-old in a Wichita ICU | Commentary
Over the past 18 months we have all seen massive changes to our lives as COVID-19 changed how we work, go to school and see our friends and family. With the development of three successful vaccines, we all hoped that summer would be a moment to turn the corner and get back to normal. Sadly, that was not the case for my family. Last month, my 6-year-old son, Felix, came down with a very serious case of COVID-19 that landed him in the pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Our family has been careful the entire pandemic. Everyone who was old enough to get vaccinated got our shots and we have all been vigilant about wearing masks. Felix wore a mask in his kindergarten all year and is often the first one in our family to put his on and make sure everyone else is wearing theirs.
But around the July 4 holiday, Felix started to feel sick. After days of a high fever and him feeling worse by the moment, we had to take him to urgent care. Doctors were uncertain about his diagnosis and admitted him to the hospital for extensive testing including EKGs and echocardiograms. After doctors thought it could be anything from an ear infection to appendicitis, Felix finally tested positive for COVID-19.
Because my wife, Jennifer, was with him when he was admitted to the hospital, she was the only person who was able to be with him — no one else was allowed in or out. I was so thankful Felix had his mom, but it was extraordinarily difficult to not be with my son during one of the scariest moments of his — and my — life.
Things only got more severe after Felix tested positive for the rare multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which caused his immune system to attack his organs, and he had to be rushed to the pediatric ICU. My vibrant and funny 6-year-old son was a shell of himself, scared and in pain because of COVID-19.
Thankfully, Felix has recovered and is back to himself, but we still don’t know how his health will be impacted in the long term. He now has to see a cardiologist every six month and needs MRIs to check if his heart sustained any long term damage — something that keeps us all up at night.
We don’t want any other families to have to endure the same nightmare. With serious COVID-19 cases rising across the country due to the Delta variant, soaring cases in kids, and overloaded hospitals, this message has never been more important.
If you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, I urge you to get answers to your questions. Think about the people in your life, children especially, who might be impacted. Consider how getting vaccinated will help your entire community — allowing kids to get back to school safely, businesses to remain open and saving lives of all ages. If you are vaccinated, please talk to your family, friends and neighbors, and encourage them to do the same. Those conversations can be the most effective way to reach people, and you’ll be doing your part to protect their health and keep your community safe.
I’m thankful every single day that Felix is recovered, healthy and getting ready for first grade. If we work together, talk to our neighbors, and get vaccinated, we can make sure other families can keep their kids safe.