A mom is admitting that she wishes she would have taken a more stringent approach to COVID-19 now that her 4-year-old son has tested positive. According to WFLA, the little boy has been in and out of the hospital after he was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease a few weeks after testing positive for COVID-19.
Kawasaki disease is a rare illness that “causes inflammation in blood vessels throughout the body. It happens in three phases, and a lasting fever usually is the first sign. The condition most often affects kids younger than 5 years old,” Kids Health reports.
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According to the mom, Erin Thomassen, her son, Alex, didn’t show any severe symptoms when he was positive for COVID-19 and that it was only when he recovered from the virus and tested negative that Alex began to suffer. From aches and pains to a high fever which was followed by a racing heart and swollen limbs, Alex’s struggle was a wake-up call for Erin.
In a now-popular Facebook post, Erin wrote that she wishes she would have been less complacent when it came to the safety measures put in place for people to follow to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19.
“I kick myself for being lax about wearing masks and physical distancing. I thumbed my nose at the experts and my little boy suffered the consequences…We were complacent. We went to the gym without masks. We thought that we were safer because we’re all young and healthy.”
Erin Thomassen
Erin was told after visiting multiple doctors and hospitals that “if it had gone on even one or two more days, [Alex] could’ve had really bad irreparable cardiac damage.” Erin continued in her post, writing that as she sat there at All Children’s Hospital and I was watching them give the medicine to my son and thinking about how serious it could’ve been. For the last few months, I thought this has been over-hyped and there is so much misinformation and everyone is freaking out about something, and that it’s probably not even going to affect us.”
Mom Wants Others to Learn From Her Mistakes When It Comes to COVID-19 Safety
“Even when we knew we had it, still, we were like, ‘Well we are young, we don’t get sick very often and especially little Alex. It is not going to affect him at all.’ It was really like this pervasive attitude that we have had.” Now, Erin hopes that by sharing her and her son’s story that others will learn from their complacency and not make the same mistake.
“I hope that I can reach just a few people out there, I really do. Not have to go through what I went through or even think about somebody else’s kid that might have to go through it because you don’t feel like wearing a mask.”
According to WFLA, Alex has continued to cover over the last several days. However, that doesn’t mean he’s in the clear just yet. As his parents explain they are keeping a close eye on him because his heart and vascular issues “are still a big concern.”
As for people who still might have issues wearing masks, this is what Erin has to say to them: “They say masks aren’t 100 percent effective, but OK so what if they are 20 percent effective? I mean that is something that we can do for each other, so why not?”
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And if it means another young child doesn’t have to endure what Alex is enduring, a mask seems worth it, doesn’t it?
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