12-Year-Old South Carolina Girl On Ventilator Battling COVID-19, RSV, and Pneumonia

A 12-year-old girl in South Carolina is fighting for her life in the ICU after being diagnosed with COVID-19, pneumonia, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Misty Goodwin said her daughter Amari Goodwin went from being a smart and sassy middle school student to sitting under a ventilator at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital, ABC 11 reported. She said her daughter’s symptoms progressing quickly frequent vomiting and a 104-degree fever.

“Once she started coughing up blood in her phlegm, I was like, No that’s enough.’ That’s when we came to the hospital,” Misty said.

Following an August 5 diagnosis, Misty said her daughter struggled but is showing signs of progress.

“You’re just in there watching her. You can’t do nothing to fix it. And then I’m trying to balance all of my kids. Nobody can come see her. It’s just me, her, and the machines,” Misty said. “She can open her eyes. She’ll squeeze your hand.”

She said her daughter was scheduled to get the vaccine but couldn’t after contracting the virus.

“Every child hospitalized for COVID or MIS-C has been unvaccinated,” Elizabeth Mack, chief of critical care and medical director of quality and safety at MUSC, said.

Misty Goodwin is now warning parents about how the virus can impact their children as the vaccination efforts continue to roll out to adults and children ages 12 and up.

“If we don’t protect these kids, no one is going to protect them. If you can get vaccinated, I suggest you do it,” Misty said.

“But you still have to wear your mask. It can happen to anybody. It don’t matter: young, old, what color. It doesn’t matter. This virus don’t care. It’s going to hit who it can hit. It’s going to keep going, so we all have to do our part.”

Doctors recently shared the hopeful news that a COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 could arrive by winter, CNBC reported.