A TODDLER suffered a devastating stroke after being struck down with coronavirus, his heartbroken parents revealed.
Colt Parris, from Columbia, Missouri, was rushed into ER on December 15 after he was unable to hold down fluids and tested positive for Covid-19 – but the morning after his mother noticed his speech was slurred.
Mom Sara Parris told Fox29: “He was talking, but it was more mumbled. Really couldn’t understand him.
“I just figured he’s in so much pain and he’s so tired because he’s not resting that he just doesn’t have the energy to talk.”
But then, she noticed he wasn’t grabbing his stuffed animal the way he normally would – and instead of taking it with his right hand, she says he “reached completely over his body with his left arm.”
After doctors intervened, it became apparent that Colt had suffered a stroke, which was big enough to cut off the blood supply to the left-hand side of his brain.
According to FOX 2 News, Dr. Paul Carney treated Colt.
“The result came back and I looked at it and it was a clear stroke,” MU Health Care pediatric neurologist Dr. Paul Carney, told the news station.
“So, there was a lack of blood supply to the left side of the brain.”
Dr Camilo Gomez, a neurologist at the hospital, says doctors were looking into the link between the virus and neurological issues.
“The Covid diagnosis is important because we think that the reason these patients with Covid, including this child, have strokes and a variety of other problems is that they have a propensity to form clots,” Gomez said.
The neurologist said his team rarely performs acute stroke interventions on children – but treating Colt and helping him recover remains a top priority.
“The ability to give that family the child that is neurologically improved by the time Christmas rolls around, I thought it was prime for us. They just were walking on sunshine,” he added.
But following the frightening episode, Sara said she hopes Colt’s plight will raise further awareness about the complications of COVID-19, – especially ones that can occur in young children.
She said: “It can be a lot more serious than just the flu. Children will get it, can get it. You might not have any symptoms, like we did. We didn’t have a clue that he even had it.”
Colt is currently at home – but is still experiencing some issues moving his right arm and leg.
Parris said that, if a stranger saw him, they might not know anything had happened – but as his mom, she knows, he’s still not totally himself.
Luckily, 3-year-old Colt is expected to fully recover after he completes a programme of physical therapy.
Joint research from the US, Europe and China earlier claimed children are less likely than adults to be infected by the virus – and are less likely to become seriously ill if they catch the virus.
But a more recent study from the CDC revealed the issue may be worse than previously thought.
There have been reports of children across the US developing a serious inflammatory condition linked to Covid-19 called MIS-C – which in some extreme cases has resulted in death.
