A 13-year-old girl is in critical condition at Texas Children’s Hospital a week after the test was positive for COVID-19 and went into cardiac arrest.
Alina Valenzuela, 13, has a previously undetected disease called myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart muscle, according to a GoFundMe page created by a family member, Miriam Tervino. Complications of COVID-19 affected Alina’s heart and caused cardiac arrest on January 11, Trevino wrote on the fundraising page. She was placed in an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine before being transferred from a hospital near her home in Pearsall to Texas Children’s on January 15.
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On January 16, Trevino posted an update saying that Alina had undergone heart surgery.
“We know that Alina is a fighter, even after she had a cardiac arrest, she refused to give up and came back to us. Alina’s desire to live and be with her family is strong ”, says the post. “Although she is very sick and has a long way to go, we have faith and believe in the power of God and the power of prayer.”
Pediatricians and children’s hospitals reported an increase in young patients with COVID-19 recovered with persistent heart problems. In December, the American Academy of Pediatrics instructed children and adolescents who wish to return to sports after coronavirus infection was cleared by a doctor of cardiac risks.
Symptoms can include dizziness, chest pain, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, fatigue.
As of Tuesday night, Alina’s state is listed as critical. So far, the fundraising page has raised more than $ 25,000 to help the family pay their medical bills.
Todd Ackerman contributed to this report.
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