7-Year-Old Boy with Sickle Cell Disease Recovers from COVID-19

7-year-old Nasir Striggs from Maryland, suffering from sickle cell anemia, is now close to full recovery after being hospitalized and testing positive for COVID-19. The Sun explains that he was at a higher risk of contracting the virus because of his sickle cell disease.

He was first hospitalized at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore early last month. Fox News reported that his mother, Deshannon Striggs, brought him in for an examination after she noticed her son had trouble breathing.

Young COVID-19 Fighter

Apart from testing positive for COVID-19, Nasir also had pneumonia in both lungs. He underwent several blood transfusions.

“He had to keep getting stuck by the needle because the needle kept coming out,” his mother said. “To watch him go through that, it was really scary.”

According to Deshannon, her son’s condition began to improve after several days of treatment. Prayers, support, and dedicated care from the medical team helped her son recover.

“Just keep the faith. That’s the message: keep the faith,” she said.

Since Nasir was discharged from the hospital, doctors have been monitoring his condition through virtual check-ups.

Dr. Yoram Unguru of Sinai Hospital said, “it seems to present more of a challenge from a respiratory standpoint in these kids. We know from data, patients with sickle cell do tend to get sicker if they get contract the COVID virus.”

According to Unguru, “taking care of a kid with COVID is not easy.”

“Starting IV lines when the kid is sick is really hard. Recognizing the importance that we needed to adhere always to the standard of care, but think outside the box and not just jump to wanting to put on a ventilator, which has consequences,” he said.

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