[ad_1]
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Las Vegas Valley mom is warning parents of the dangers of COVID-19 after her 6-year-old son ended up on life support.
He faces a long road to recovery and a $1 million medical bill.
Zyaire Bell was diagnosed with MIS-C, or multi-system inflammatory syndrome. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that more than 6,400 children have been diagnosed with the condition and 55 have died.
The Southern Nevada Health District reported 104 cases of MIS-C in children as of Feb. 1.
“It’s like a nightmare,” said Sharella Ruffin. “I got a few medical bills that came in … no one can afford a million-dollar medical bill … My prayer is that he’s healthy, he grows up healthy. And I know his heart is never gonna be the same.”
In September, Ruffin said she kept her son home from school after he was sick and tested positive for COVID-19. His condition deteriorated, and she brought Zyaire to a local hospital.
Ruffin recalled a scary moment when doctors feared he would not make it. His heart had deteriorated.
“And they couldn’t save him out here. They had to airlift him,” she said.
Zyaire was flown with an ECMO machine, a step above a ventilator, to a children’s hospital in Salt Lake City. Ruffin said doctors flew in from around the country to visit this case as he was one of the few children in the U.S. who needed a life-support device.
He was on the ECMO machine for two weeks.
The family is finally home, but Ruffin said she is now her son’s caregiver around the clock. She has a job at the Strat, but has not been able to work.
“I know my baby is tired .. I have my days where I wake up in the middle of night crying, because I feel like, all the stuff he going through now, did I do this for myself? To keep him here? Because he’s suffering,” Ruffin said.
Zyaire is trying to make it back to Salt Lake City for medical visits, but the family is working to fundraise for hotel and gas expenses. Click here to visit the family’s GoFundMe page.
[ad_2]
Source link
