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Baby recovering after COVID battle at East Bay hospital
KTVU's Jesse Gary reports.
The spreading omicron variant is taking a toll on the youngest people in the country. Doctors with the American Academy of Pediatrics report 325,000 children tested positive for COVID last week.
One of those who tested positive is little Doni Rivera from the East Bay. Although he’s home safe and ready to engage the world now, his mother said it’s a sharp contrast to his condition just days ago.
"I really truly feel if it wasn’t for (nurse) Trisha at John Muir Medical Center, my baby would not be here," said Natasha Johnson.
She brought her 3-month-old son home Tuesday, after a five-day stay in a pediatric intensive care unit.
She said the trouble started with a Christmas Day family gathering. Although everyone had taken a COVID test, some attendees were not vaccinated.
"I thought everybody was OK. And I started noticing after Christmas, around Monday, that my son wasn’t feeling too good," said Johnson.
Johnson eventually took her baby to John Muir Medical Center where he tested positive for Respiratory Syncytial Virus and COVID.
The American Academy of Pediatrics said the number of children catching the virus increased 64% from the week before Christmas to the week after Christmas.
"The new variant spreads extremely very easily. Is very virulent in that regard. So even a modest exposure can result in infection. Therefore, given what’s going on with the holidays it’s not surprising to see cases skyrocketing," said Dr. Mark Schwartz, a San Jose State University biotechnologist.
Doni deteriorated quickly, eventually needing forced oxygen to breath. Johnson feared the worst as her son hovered near death’s door.
"And I asked her (the nurse), is my baby gonna die? And she said I promise you I will not let your baby die. At that point I threw my hands up, backed up and said, ‘Do what you need to do to save my baby,'" Johnson recalled.
The nurse’s promise was kept. Doni recovered and is now home.
For Johnson, the tumultuous five-days are also a cautionary tale for others about the dangers of COVID, even from family and especially for young, unvaccinated children.
"I do not think people are taking very serious at all," she said.