Please help with Waverly's medical expenses

Hi, my name is Tom St. Denis and my wife Donna and I are raising money for our 2 year old grand daughter Waverly's medical expenses incurred in the USA. Our son Dan and his wife Janine give some details below about her ordeal following complications from COVID.

Our two-year-old daughter, Waverly, spent five days in the hospital in early September. On Tuesday, August 24, we learned one of her teachers at preschool tested positive for COVID-19. Waverly’s classroom was shut down in order to stop the spread. On Saturday, August 28, Waverly began complaining of stomach pains. On Sunday, August 29, she woke up with a low-grade fever. We took her to be tested for COVID-19 because of her contact with her COVID-positive teacher. By the time we left the testing site, her temperature had risen to 104.3F. We treated her with Tylenol and called her pediatrician. By Monday, August 30, Waverly’s fever was at 104.7F. We went to see the pediatrician who informed us that her symptoms were not typical of a COVID infection, but to keep an eye on things. By Tuesday, August 31, Waverly was lethargic, not eating or drinking and vomiting. She also had a low-grade fever. We received word that she tested positive for COVID-19. We were concerned about her hydration levels and called her pediatrician again who instructed us to go to the ER.

Once in the ER, she received fluids and had blood drawn. The ER doctors informed us that Waverly’s inflammation markers in her bloodwork were outrageously high. Her Sedimentation rate was 96 – should have been 10 to 20. Her CRP was 9, should have been less than 1. Various other markers were more than double the “safe” levels. As such, the doctors began to suspect that Waverly was not positive with acute COVID, but that she had been infected weeks before and had developed MIS-C (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children), a condition during which different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs. While the exact cause of MIS-C is still relatively unknown, it is understood that children with MIS-C had COVID-19 two to eight weeks prior to MIS-C developing. MIS-C is serious, even deadly, but when children are diagnosed early and receive medical care, the majority recover.

The doctors understood the urgency to treat Waverly. She was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, August 30. On Wednesday, September 1, she had her first echocardiogram, which found fluid around her heart. She was then seen by a pediatric infectious disease specialist who confirmed the MIS-C diagnosis. The treatment for this is an intravenous infusion of immunoglobulin. Waverly received the infusion on Thursday, September 2. After this infusion, we also found that she had an ear infection, and she also was treated with antibiotics. She then suffered from side effects from the infusion including fever, nausea and vomiting. On Friday, September 3, Waverly had another echocardiogram, which showed that the infusion was successful as the fluid around her heart had dissipated. On Saturday, September 4, Waverly had 6 vials of blood taken for a multitude of bloodwork panels. Luckily, these showed that her inflammatory markers were almost back to normal levels, and we were discharged from the hospital after spending 5 days in isolation.

Since coming home, Waverly has been in good spirits. The doctors tell us her recovery will come in waves of feeling good and feeling not so great as her small body endured a lot of trauma, but it is unknown if she will have lasting impacts on her organs. We will have to follow up with a cardiologist for the foreseeable future as there is so much still unknown about the long-term impact of MIS-C, but we were lucky. We found it before she went into organ failure as some other children with MIS-C do. We feel very blessed to have a strong, beautiful little girl who is still smiling despite all that she endured.

COVID does not discriminate, and MIS-C is a very real threat to children. We are very glad to share our story to help educate other parents on the signs and symptoms of this awful syndrome. We appreciate all of the love and support and feel truly thankful that we got to bring our little girl home.