A BABY who tested positive for Covid-19 experienced brain swelling four days later and was airlifted for treatment at a hospital hours away.
The four-month-old baby, Cullen, was infected with coronavirus along with his mother, father and two siblings in Nebraska in mid-November.
Shortly after being diagnosed with Covid-19, Cullen’s brain began to swell, his mother Hillary Whitton wrote on a GoFundMe fundraiser.
The soft spot on Cullen’s head began “visibly protruding” in a span of several hours.
In addition, a rash would appear, fade and reappear on his face and body.
Cullen was “very upset and in obvious discomfort” and stopped feeding, Whitton said.
The boy’s family took him to a nearby hospital but he was airlifted six hours away to Denver Children’s Hospital for treatment.
Doctors said Cullen’s brain swell was due to Covid-19.
The condition is called bulging fontanel, and causes an infant’s soft spot to curve outward.
The swelling can be caused by infections.
“I want parents to know that this is so much more than the flu or common cold and children can most certainly be affected,” Whitton told Newsweek.
After three weeks of the illness, Cullen still experienced brain swelling and discomfort but began feeding again.
His family is uncertain about his future and must measure the circumference of Cullen’s head every couple of hours to ensure that the swelling does not get worse.
If his swelling increases, Cullen must be airlifted to a hospital again.
“We’ve been warned this could be a long road and potentially have lifelong effects for Cullen,” Whitton said.
“But we are staying positive and hopeful for his full recovery.”
Whitton advised parents to take their children to the hospital quickly if they experience bulging fontanel because it could cause brain bleeds and more serious complications.
The mother also shared that no one in her family got fevers and cautioned against writing off coronavirus symptoms.
“Our entire family of five, three children, my husband and myself, were all in a great deal of pain, had difficulty breathing, cough, etc., you name it we had it—except fevers,” Whitton said.
“I think there is a big misconception that you must have a fever to have Covid-19, and that is simply not the case.”
On Thursday, the US surpassed 17million coronavirus cases and recorded more than 3,600 deaths in a day, which was a new high.
