ATLANTA — Some parents whose children contracted COVID-19 say that even months later, they are still feeling the virus’ effects.
Channel 2′s Tom Regan spoke with a mother who wished to remain anonymous, but said her healthy, soccer-playing 10-year-old son became mysteriously ill around Easter.
“I noticed labored breathing; it was almost like he could not catch his breath,” the mother, who did not want to be identified, said.
”He was exhausted, he didn’t act the same and was really quiet,” she said. “He just wasn’t himself.”
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After speaking with a pediatrician, she was told her child was in a growth spurt and that she had nothing to worry about.
However, the boy’s teachers expressed concerns about his demeanor and brain fog.
She spoke with another doctor who immediately sensed a looming medical crisis.
“You need to get husband, wake up your son, you need to put him in the car and take him to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta immediately,” the doctor told her.
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Blood tests at Scottish Rite Hospital revealed the child had Type 1 diabetes, likely caused by COVID-19, which the boy caught last July.
“We were just in shock,” the woman said. “Are you telling me that’s it’s possible that COVID has done this to my son?” she asked.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that COVID-19 raised the risk by 30% of children under 18 developing diabetes.
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The virus can attack and kill cells of the pancreas that produces insulin, which helps control the body’s blood sugar level.
The mother says her son is getting adjusted to a blood sugar monitoring and insulin routine but is back to playing soccer and doing what kids do.
“He is doing well; he is feeling better. Insulin is what his body needs. He wasn’t making any,” she said.
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