Seven-Month-Old Covid-Positive Baby Dies of Untreated Bacterial Infection That Was Found Too Late and Not Treated On Time, Parents To File Lawsuit

Since the pandemic began more than two years ago, most hospital resources have been diverted to treating Covid-ill patients, a policy that has put many people in danger by postponing treatment for other diseases and surgeries. Hospitals are slowly returning to normal now that the Covid-19 levels are declining, but the damage to some people has already been done.

A 7-month-old Covid-ill baby died of an untreated bacterial infection, and the baby’s parents are considering filing a lawsuit against the hospitals because doctors at both hospitals only focused on treating the coronavirus without conducting additional tests that would have detected the infection sooner, which led to the baby’s death.

Charles and Rocio Cunningham rushed their baby Calani to a local Wisconsin hospital in late February because she wasn’t feeling well, according to the International Business Times. She was sent to the emergency room, where she tested positive for Covid-19 following an initial examination. Parents were told to return home and given instructions on how to treat their children’s illness. Despite the treatment, the baby did not improve in the following days, and they went to another hospital.

As per cbs58, the Cunninghams asked the doctors to do further tests when they arrived at the second hospital since the baby hadn’t eaten in days, her stomach was rock hard, and her neck had swollen.

However, the parents were assured that there was no need to be concerned because all of the symptoms were common among Covid patients, according to the doctors. In a few days, the baby’s condition worsened, and she died of MRSA, a staph infection, despite doctors’ best efforts to save her life.

“We, as parents, took her to the best place for children in hopes that they would find out what’s wrong with her and fix her so we can bring her back home, and they just allowed her to get worse right before their eyes,” said Cunningham.
“When the ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machine was placed through her neck, large amounts of puss drained out. The fluid from her neck and lungs were sent for a cultural sample, which came back positive for MRSA,” the child’s parents wrote on GoFundMe.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a staph infection that is resistant to most antibiotics. However, most people who acquire MRSA survive if the illness is caught early. Calani’s illness, on the other hand, was found too late and the infant girl was not given proper MRSA treatment.

The parents chose to speak publicly about their daughter’s death in the hopes of inspiring other parents to fight for and demand more from doctors, especially when their kid has a significant medical ailment so that other parents do not have to go through a similar tragedy.

“It hurts just looking back on everything. So again, the one thing I would want to tell parents is just to keep trying. Just keep asking for answers, keep demanding answers. We know our children, we know when our children are okay. Don’t rest until you know your child is okay,” Charles said.

“You have a voice. Be a bigger advocate than what we were. Don’t let them ignore you. Do not let them ignore you. You know when something’s wrong with your child or with yourself, so fight more, demand more from them,” said Rocio.