Mother describes her worries as her child recovers from illness that is associated with COVID-19

PHOENIX - Cases of an inflammatory illness associated with the coronavirus are now being seen in Arizona.

The illness, known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), typically impacts children and young adults, and a woman says her child is still recovering.

The woman, Jasmine Gismar, said it came as a complete shock that her daughter had MIS-C because they had been quarantined.

"It was just a shock because does this mean we all have it or had it? Should I be worried for my other children, and they explained that not everyone has the same symptoms," said Gismar.

Gismar described the symptoms.

"She was just really weak," said Gismar. "She was blazing hot. Her cheeks were puffy red. I didn't know it was a rash. I just thought it was from the heat."

A rash and a fever of 103°F for two days were the symptoms that told Gismar something was wrong with her 16-year-old daughter.

"These symptoms started before May 30. Actually a week prior to that, she started complaining 'my head really hurts. I feel like my head is about to blow,'" said Gismar.

Gismar's daughter spent a week at the hospital, and she is still recovering.

Dr. Lynn Lawrence, Director of Cardon Children's Medical Center in Mesa, says MIS-C is a reaction after having COVID-19. It can happen three to four weeks after the initial infection.

"The difficult thing in kids is even though they test positive, some are asymptomatic, meaning they have no symptoms at all. So for some families, it will be a shock when we test them that they have the antibodies," said Dr. Lawrence.

Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on MIS-C

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/children/mis-c.html