More and more people are going to hospitals because of the pandemic. A couple, Clara and Beau Green didn’t worry too much when their one-year-old daughter, Natalie Green, developed a low-grade fever. The baby tends to get sick more often than other kids and has needed medical care for the flu and the common cold. Clara thought teething to be the culprit.
“Her whole one year of life, she’s been in and out of hospitals because of asthma and because of illnesses,” Clara, 34, told TODAY. “She’s a very sickly kid.”
Then, her husband, Beau, started feeling unwell. They went to the hospital to have him checked, and as it turns out, he had COVID-19. The couple worried that Natalie might get it too, but doctors reassured them that she would be fine.
When Natalie had a fever just breaking 100 degrees, they treated her
at home with fever reducers and observed her. The baby wasn’t coughing
and struggling to breathe. Last Wednesday, however, her fever spiked,
and she started having convulsions due to her high temperature. The
couple immediately called 911 as Natalie already had five or six
seizures and became unresponsive after.
When they arrived at the children’s hospital, Natalie underwent several tests. They didn’t have a coronavirus test kit, so they had to diagnose her by way of elimination – the same way that her father was diagnosed.
Natalie tested negative for other
viruses and illnesses. Doctors presumed she had contracted coronavirus
and was suffering from complications from it. They said the baby had low
oxygen levels, but that it wasn’t low enough for her to require help
breathing. As Natalie had stabilized during the testing, they sent her
home with instructions on how to care for her. 
Back home, Natalie didn’t have any more seizures, cough, and shortness of breath, but she felt so unwell. The poor baby was crying non-stop because of the intense body aches brought about by her fever.
“Miserable isn’t even the word to describe it. It was like absolutely inconsolable miserable crying,” Clara recalled. “She was just in absolute pain, which was super sad to see. There’s nothing you can do for the body aches and the rundown feeling.”
Over the weekend, though, Natalie’s condition started to improve. She’s becoming her usual upbeat self again and hasn’t had a fever in days. What great news!
On the other hand, Beau is still sick. He’s been suffering from a cough and shortness of breath. As for Natalie, it’s still too early to tell if she’s a hundred percent healthy, but the fact that she has improved is already a significant progress.
The family learned that Natalie’s case may be a first when it comes to children with COVID-19 who are in the hospitals.
Clara shared her family’s story on Facebook in hopes that it will encourage others to practice social distancing strictly. This is her message to everyone:
“We were taking precautions but we were not those people that locked ourselves in the house immediately. How quickly and how fast it hit my family and affected my child was basically my reason for posting that. If I had a message it is that it can happen to you, too. Let’s just be smart.”
We’re so glad that Natalie is now recovering and happy! We hope her dad gets well soon, too!
