Doctors said a 6-year-old needs the COVID vaccine; now he has myocarditis and can’t walk

Six-year-old Milo Edberg was alert and walking in early December before he got the COVID-19 vaccine. Now, he's confined to a hospital bed, diagnosed with myocarditis, unable to walk.

These photos show Milo at various stages throughout his hospital stay. (Photos provided to Alpha News)

Milo Edberg is a six-year-old child who received the COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 10. Two days later, he was back in the hospital, where he remains, unable to even swallow his own saliva.

“He was perfectly fine and then he wasn’t,” his mother, Carrie, told Alpha News.

Milo’s life has never been easy. Born a micro-preemie at just 23 weeks, he’s battled chronic lung disease his entire life. Despite his struggles, however, he learned to walk and his mother said he was alert and expressive in early December when a doctor at M Health Fairview’s Masonic Children’s Hospital decided that he needed the COVID vaccine.

He was in the hospital for a port placement to help with some blood sugar issues. That port placement was considered minor surgery and all went well.

Milo’s mother said she didn’t want her son to get the shot. Only three Minnesota children under the age of 10 have died of the virus since the coronavirus pandemic began two years ago — yet his doctor said that he was at special risk of having a severe case.

Ultimately, Carrie abided by the doctor’s recommendation after being told that the shot was safe and harmless. “I went against my gut and said OK, do it,” she said.

“Unfortunately, you can’t go back in time,” she now recalls. “I support vaccines, but this one has been tough.”

Milo was vaccinated Dec. 10 and discharged from the hospital hours later. He was “gasping for air” at home later the next evening, Carrie said. She dialed 911 as her son’s symptoms progressed. Young Milo was transported back to Masonic on the 12th where he was intubated and diagnosed with myocarditis. He remained intubated for a month and a half and is still in the hospital nearly two months later. He can’t sit up on his own.

In all of this time, the doctors haven’t been able to clearly explain Milo’s affliction, his mother said.

“They literally have no answers,” she commented.

Doctors haven’t even been able to provide a timeline for when Milo might be able to return home or predict if he will be able to regain any quality of life.

Before the vaccine, Carrie said her son was “eating on his own [but] now he can’t even swallow his saliva.” She said he gained so many skills last year and was doing very well.

Videos that show the child walking before he was vaccinated also contrast sharply with images supplied by his mother that show him intubated, laying helpless in the hospital.

Meanwhile, “they [the doctors at Masonic] won’t bring up the vaccine” when talking about Milo’s situation, Carrie reported.

“Milo has had amazing care at Masonic. But it is weird they won’t bring up the vaccine. They just brush it off,” she said.

However, she was able to file her own VAERS report in late January, and Milo reportedly received a 10-15 minute visit from infectious disease specialists who said they would file a report with the CDC and Pfizer early in his hospital stay. She has heard nothing about this since.

M Health Fairview said it cannot comment on an individual patient because of privacy laws and directed Alpha News to its FAQ page on vaccines for children.

 

Alpha News Staff