Buffalo 7th grader spends 6 days in a coma battling rare condition after COVID-19
After a COVID-19 positive test, Buffalo's Samantha Grief fell into a coma just days after symptoms began thanks to a rare disease.
BUFFALO, Minn. (FOX 9) - The FDA is expected to approve the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 12 to 15 years old in the near future. But for one family from Buffalo, that news is too late, as their 13-year-old daughter continues to fight complications from the disease.
It was about two weeks ago that Angela Grieg says her daughter Samantha started to not feel well.
Buffalo 7th grader spends 6 days in a coma battling rare condition after coronavirus
The FDA is expected to approve the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 12 to 15 years old in the near future. But for one family from Buffalo, that news is too late, as their 13-year-old daughter continues to fight complications from the disease.
"She’s a very healthy kid; she’s not typically sick," Angela told FOX 9 Tuesday.
But Samantha’s condition worsened day by day, and soon she was in the hospital.
"She went from being perfectly fine to being in a coma in 48 hours," her mom said.
Samantha was in a coma for six days – battling a very severe but equally rare condition.
"It’s something that we’ve seen in kids after COVID infection," Dr. Anupama Kalaskar of Children’s Minnesota said. It’s called Multi System Inflammatory Syndrome, and it can lead to organ failure throughout the body.
"In the state of Minnesota there have been 81 cases total since the beginning of the pandemic," Dr. Anupama Kalaskar said.
For family and friends of the seventh grade swimmer at Buffalo Middle School, it was a shock.
"She’s very diligent about wearing her mask and washing her hands and staying away from people," Angela said of her daughter. "To see her to the point where she can’t move her own leg is is devastating."
"I dropped everything and went to church and prayed because it was out of our control," family-friend Kirstin Franzen added.
Along with prayers came donations - over $20,000 to a GoFundMe page, as of Tuesday.
"In all this dark week that we’ve had, that’s been the one bright spot," Angela said. "It just helps you feel like everything’s going to be OK, so to say thank you seems so little."
Now on the mend, Samantha still has a long way to go.
"She’s opening her eyes and she’s responding appropriately," Angela explained. "But, they don’t really know what the extent is going to be for a while still."
Samantha’s family says she’ll remain in the hospital for a couple more weeks and then therapy is ahead. Doctors say patients in these type of cases normally make a full recovery.
There have not been any deaths caused by MIS-C in Minnesota, but there have been 36 deaths nationwide.