Canada:
Story of toddler stricken with swine flu has happy ending
(((((((After being turned away from the emergency ward three times in the late spring, Rhea Myers ended up in the pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre in June. ))))))
By Carol Sanders, Winnipeg Free Press
September 16, 2009 5:03 AM
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Story+toddler+stricken+with+swine+happy+ending/1999471/story.html
WINNIPEG — The H1N1 virus is expected to surge when the fall flu season begins, hitting younger victims harder than regular flu. It has already taken several Canadian lives.
But it’s spared many more. And it may have actually helped one very sick but strong toddler whose photo appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press on June 28.
After being turned away from the emergency ward three times in the late spring, Rhea Myers ended up in the pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre in June.
She was placed in a sterile isolation room, hooked up to a breathing machine and was in a coma for weeks. At that traumatic time, her parents agreed to an interview and to have her photo taken, but didn’t want their names made public.
Today, the toddler with long blond curls is back in the pink, at home with her family and enjoying the swing sets.
“She’s doing fabulous,” said her dad, Scott Myers.
He and Rhea’s mom, Michelle, are so grateful that their H1N1 story had a happy ending, they agreed to share it.
“The reality is that the outcome . . . could’ve been tragic,” she said. “If there is a silver lining to a child being that sick, perhaps being in the coma gave her body the rest it needed to heal, and she has somehow beaten H1N1 and is now healthier than ever.”
In June, Rhea was one of 20 suspected or confirmed H1N1 cases in the pediatric ICU.
Rhea already had serious medical challenges: the 16-month-old already had respiratory problems and needed supplemental oxygen to help her breathe. Still, she was a busy, happy toddler. When she became totally listless, her parents became alarmed.
After she was admitted to hospital, she tested positive for the H1N1 virus that was virtually shutting down her lungs.
A ventilator pumped 300 shallow breaths a minute into her lungs. The quick, little breaths pumped in oxygen without inflating — and further damaging — her injured little lungs, giving them time to heal.
“Lungs can make a remarkable recovery,” a pediatric ICU doctor said at the time.
Rhea’s did.
“They thought the ventilator could possibly cause more damage to her lungs,” said her mom, Michelle. “But . . . after over a year of requiring oxygen on a daily basis, she hasn’t needed any for over a month.
“It’s so great to go to the park or even just to our backyard without carrying an oxygen tank with us, or worry that her oxygen levels are dropping too low.”
Michelle said Rhea was a little weaker and lost some muscle tone after lying in a coma for so long, so she underwent physiotherapy.
She still has some lung damage and a weak immune system, her mother said.
Rhea takes a protective antibiotic, and needs to be a little stronger before she’s able to go to daycare.
The little girl, who’s always had a happy nature, is glad to be home. Her big brother, Alex, is also relieved.
“When Alex wakes up in the morning, he says, ‘Rhea’s awake, let’s go get her,’ “ said Michelle.
When Rhea was able to breathe without oxygen tubes, he was overjoyed, she said.
“Alex jumped up with his arms in the air yelling, ‘No more tubes, hurray for Rhea!’ “
It’s amazing how the body can heal itself if the organs are given the chance to rest.
I’ve heard the same thing about the heart when attacked by viruses, if the patient is put on a heart machine to pump the blood, the heart heals itself.
These new developments are very encouraging and hopefully will be tried elsewhere. They could also be considered for other illnesses, outside of the swine flu.