4-year-old girl paralyzed by spine disease linked to COVID



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A 4-year-old girl from New Mexico is paralyzed after being diagnosed with a spine disease from COVID-19, which left her hospitalized for eight months.

Stella Martin was rushed to the San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, New Mexico in April 2020 after running to her mother, Cassandra Yazzie, complaining of back pain, KOAT reported.

Yazzie told the station that her daughter suddenly “went limp” in his arms.

Stella was quickly airlifted to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque, where she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and then acute transverse myelitis, her mother said.

The disease is classified as an acute inflammation of the gray and white matter in one or more adjacent segments of the spinal cord, according to the Merck Manual.

Doctors at UNMH said it was the first case of coronavirus-linked acute transverse myelitis in a child they had seen in hospital.

Stella Martin was released from hospital after an 8-month stay.
Stella Martin was discharged from hospital after an eight month stay.
UNMH

Dr Barry Ramo told KOAT that COVID-19 is known to cause a hyperimmune response in children and could be responsible for the inflammation of Stella’s spinal cord.

Stella spent five months at UNM and another three months at Carrie Tingley Hospital, KOAT reported.

On Monday, she received a round of applause from the medical staff as she could finally return home.

Stella Martin's father died of COVID-19.
Stella Martin’s father died of COVID-19 while in hospital.
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“I am very grateful to the staff at UNM, the doctors, the chefs, the nurses. They have done a lot for Stella. We thank them all, ”Yazzie told KOAT.

“Every person there, she tells them she loves them, she checks the staff. When they entered she would ask, “Are you okay?” She calls them all her friends, ”she added.

Tragically, while the girl was hospitalized, her father died of COVID-19, according to the outlet.

“I miss my dad,” Stella told KOAT.

Stella Martin was treated at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Stella Martin was treated at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Facebook

Her mother said doctors told her Stella was unlikely to recover, but noted that her mobility had already improved and she was able to move her arms a bit.

“I just want everyone to stay safe, don’t take COVID lightly because it affects my daughter in a big way,” Yazzie told KOAT.

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