Coachella teen returns home after battle with mysterious disease associated with COVID-19
Isiah Muñoz, a 15-year-old from Coachella, is back home after a battle with a mysterious disease associated with the coronavirus.
The boy's mother, Araceli Ruiz, said on July 24, her son started feeling sick and throwing up. His condition continued to get worse and Ruiz decided to take him to JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio.
"I thought it was the COVID," Ruiz said.
Doctors told Ruiz they believed the illness was possibly COVID-19 and eczema. Muñoz was sent home but Ruiz says he just kept getting sicker. Ruiz said three days after he was first taken to the hospital, the teen's chest started hurting and he was having trouble breathing.
Ruiz took him back to the ER but he was then transferred over to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital due to his condition.
Muñoz was tested twice for COVID-19, both times the results came back negative, however, an antibody test revealed he had COVID-19 at some point.
"We didn't know because he had no symptoms," Ruiz said.
As Muñoz's condition continued to get worse and he was placed on a respirator.
Doctors were able to find out what was wrong with the Muñoz multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a mysterious disease affecting children.
We first started reporting on this disease back in May.
Since then the CDC has reported 570 confirmed cases of MIS-C and 10 deaths in 40 states, Washington, DC, and New York City. Additional cases are under investigation.
Read: 12-year-old Arizona girl hospitalized for rare inflammatory disease from COVID-19
"Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Children with MIS-C may have a fever and various symptoms, including abdominal (gut) pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired," reads a notice by the CDC.
"It's everything that he went through. It was the lungs, kidney, and heart," Ruiz said.
It's not known yet what causes MIS-C, but according to the CDC, many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19.
“It's a rare condition that appears to be affecting children who have had COVID-19," said Dr. Maulin Soneji, a pediatrician at Loma Linda.
Ruiz is still unsure of how Muñoz contracted COVID-19, but hopes sharing their story will inspire parents to take the proper precautions.
Meanwhile, Muñoz is slowly recovering from the disease. His family celebrated his return home after spending a week in Loma Linda.
