Raelynn's battle with rare COVID illness, MIS-C

Raelynn Hernandez is 8 years old and lives with her single mother and her two younger brothers. She is a dancer and a gymnast (can do the splits). She is an active child that loves indoor rock climbing, LOL doll surprise toys, and riding bikes. Raelynn contracted COVID-19 at the end of January and was A-Symptomatic. Two months later, she was at the aquarium with her family; laughing, eating candy, exploring, and having fun. Later that day she had a fever, started vomiting, and was in extreme pain.  

Raelynn was admitted to Banner Children's Hospital in Mesa AZ on March 14th, and after many tests, she was diagnosed with MIS-C. MIS-C is an inflammatory disease that can affect blood vessels, cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever, swollen hands, feet and tongue. There are over 2,000 kids in the USA that have gotten MIS-C with 33 reported deaths.  According to the CDC, there have been 116 confirmed cases in Arizona.

Raelynn has suffered for the last week with 105 temperature, diarrhea, vomiting, and other symptoms. She has been in the PICU fighting for her life. Day after day she will cry from the extreme pain not knowing when she will ever feel better and saying she can’t take much more. The family was also given the news that there is air in her vein going into her liver and we are still unsure of what is happening there.

A few days ago, they had to do minor surgery to put in a PICC to give her the hydration and nutrients her body needs, because she has not been allowed to eat or drink since being admitted. She is improving thanks to the medications and prayers received. There may be ongoing medical issues that will need to be addressed due to the complications she had in her intestines, including surgery. She will be getting another CAT scan today, March 23rd, to see what is happening in her intestines as there has been a concern about a possible GI bleed and confirmed infection. Currently, her white blood cell counts are increasing and her red blood cell counts are decreasing. They are running more tests to figure out what is going on. 

Her mother has been staying overnight with her at the hospital every night. She is struggling to stay in nursing school, complete her exams and not drop out of school, as well as trying to find family and friends to help watch her two boys. There has been a lot of extra costs the family has incurred and there isn’t enough to get by. They expect Raelynn will have to stay in the hospital for at least another week. She has severe gastrointestinal issues and may require surgery. She was diagnosed with pneumonia today, March 23rd. :(

We are trying to alleviate stress for her mom and help her provide the things she and her children need during this time. Please pray for Raelynn and help the family if you can in any way, even if it’s just sharing this link or messaging us your experience if your child has been through this to try to get Raelynn home. May God bless you and your families. We will continue to update you with information as we get it.