A 4-year-old girl from New Mexico is paralyzed after being diagnosed with a spine condition due to COVID-19, which left her hospitalized for eight months.
Stella Martin was rushed to San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, New Mexico, in April 2020 after running to her mother, Cassandra Yazzie, complaining of back pain, KOAT reported.
Yazzie told the station that her daughter suddenly “limped” in her arms.
Stella was quickly flown to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque, where she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and then acute transverse myelitis, her mother said.
The disease is classified as an acute inflammation of the gray and white matter in one or more adjacent spinal cord segments, according to the Merck manual.
Doctors at UNMH said this was the first case of acute coronavirus-related myelitis in a child they saw at the hospital.
Dr. Barry Ramo told KOAT that COVID-19 is known to cause a hyperimmune response in children and could be responsible for inflammation in the Stella’s spinal cord.
Stella spent five months at UNM and another three months at Carrie Tingley Hospital, KOAT reported.
On Monday, she received a round of applause from the medical staff, as she finally managed to return home.
“I am so grateful for the staff at UNM, the doctors, the bosses, the nurses. They did a lot for Stella. We thank everyone, “Yazzie told KOAT.
“Every person there, he tells them he loves them, checks the staff. When they entered, she asked, “Are you okay?” She calls all her friends, ”she added.
Tragically, while the girl was hospitalized, her father died of COVID-19, according to the press.
“I miss Daddy,” Stella told KOAT.
Her mother said doctors told her Stella was unlikely to recover, but said her mobility had already improved and she could move her arms a little.
“I just want everyone to stay safe, not take COVID easily, because it affects my daughter in a big way,” Yazzie told KOAT.