Singapore — The mother of a four-year-old diagnosed with a rare multi-system inflammatory syndrome linked to Covid-19 shared her experience in dealing with her son’s condition, noting it worsened rapidly.
On Nov 6, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced four cases of paediatric Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).
The four cases were amongst the over 8,000 paediatric Covid-19 cases in Singapore since the start of the pandemic and are considered to be rare.
The cases consist of a three-, eight- and four-year-old boy as well as a two-month-old female infant.
Of the four cases, one is in the children’s intensive care unit (CICU), one is in a general ward, while two have been discharged.
One of the cases, an eight-year-old boy, was admitted to the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s CICU on Nov 1.
Muhammad Ali Zafir Mohamed Azmi was already three weeks into his Covid-19 recovery when he started showing symptoms of the condition such as high fever and chills.
It was reported that the child began vomiting two days later.
Due to the rapid deterioration of his condition, Ali Zafir was transferred from a general ward to the ICU within a day.
“Ali was active, as chipper as before, playing with his sisters and brother and so excited to go back to school,” said Ali Zafir’s mother Marilyn Cacanindin to The Straits Times on Monday (Nov 8).
He would play his favourite games, his parents thinking he had left the Covid-19 infection days behind.
Ms Marilyn gave Ali Zafir an antigen rapid test (ART) which returned negative.
“We thought he was (having chills) because of a normal fever, so we let him rest and gave him (fever medication) ibuprofen, which we had at home,” the mother noted.
When the vomiting happened, Ali Zafir’s parents rushed him to the hospital.
The child was intubated, placed on a ventilator for a week and given 12 different medications, reported ST.
“When he had to be intubated, he kept crying and shouting for me – he didn’t want to let me go, but I had to,” the mother shared.
“Both my husband and I were worried about his young body going through so much pain, with needles in him.”
It was reported that the child had shown signs of improvement, such as raising his arms or sitting up with assistance, although he remains in the ICU.
Ms Marilyn noted that the medical staff is taking good care of her son, thanking them for understanding her child’s situation.
She highlighted sharing their story to create awareness amongst parents regarding the potential MIS-C symptoms in children after Covid-19 infection.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MIS-C is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
“MIS-C can be serious, even deadly, but most children who were diagnosed with this condition have gotten better with medical care,” CDC noted.
Symptoms include ongoing fever, stomach pain, bloodshot eyes, diarrhoea, dizziness, skin rash or vomiting. /TISG
Read related: Risk of heart inflammation after second dose of mRNA Covid-19 vaccine “very small”: S’pore expert committee
Calvin Cheng calls Govt’s pre-order of Sinovac vaccine “a failed gamble”