DURBAN - A Hilton mother, whose five-year-old daughter was rushed to hospital with Covid pneumonia, has warned other parents to stop breaking Covid-19 safety regulations put in place to stop the spread of the virus.
Kelly Stegen, in a recent Facebook post, said last Thursday evening all her worst fears came true.
She said her five-year-old daughter was admitted to the hospital with Covid pneumonia developing on one lung. She had started showing symptoms only that morning.
Stegen said the whole family, including the nanny, tested positive for Covid-19 that afternoon. Luckily, her older daughter was away, she said.
“She was 100% fine all week and woke up burning and with a headache, no appetite, very lethargic and just not herself. I knew something was wrong… This came out of nowhere. Like a shadow in the night. One day 100% fine. One day not.”
She said her daughter was tested at 7:30am and by 3:30pm, she was taken to the doctor where it was determined that her oxygen levels were at 90%.
Her heart rate was extremely high, she said.
Sitting beside her hospital bed, Stegen said her “heart filled with worry” and she forced herself to calm down as she knew her daughter would pick up on what she was feeling.
She said she meditated and prayed for healing.
“She was in a terrible way – no appetite at all and burning up badly. She has been pumped with so many drugs and prodded and X-rayed.”
Her daughter spent two nights in the Covid-19 ward, which she described as “probably the two scariest days I could possibly experience as a mother.”
Stegen said she was relieved when daughter started to show signs of recovering and her appetite returned.
Stegen praised the nurses and described them as “heroes”.
“Listening to the people coughing and spluttering at night in this Covid ward is so eerie and sad. No one to visit us all. The nurses are your only friends and, let me tell you, they are heroes. Our nurses have been incredible.”
Stegen appealed to other parents to follow their gut and take their child to get a Covid-19 test if they woke up feeling sick.
“This is a message to everyone and all parents! If I can help save one life; I hope I can.”
She said the Delta variant of Covid-19 could hit a person in just a day.
“Stop socialising, stop going anywhere and stop taking this lightly! Stop braaing with your friends. Stop play dates! Please, you don't want to be where I am. And I have not been socialising at all and both my kids (have been) off school for 4 weeks… This is not just flu! We all need to stand together.”
Her daughter was discharged on Saturday.
In an update on her recovery on Sunday, Stegen said her daughter's temperature was under control, there was no coughing, no runny nose and her lungs were much better.
“Today she looks completely fine… She is coming off all the meds.”
Stegen said that while there was no need to live in fear, people need to be prepared.
“To everyone saying this is ’flu, it's not. To everyone that got the first Covid variant and says it's not that bad, This variant is very different. Please do not be complacent.”
THE MERCURY