4-year-old girl dies as cold symptoms worsen, family says. ‘A war started in her body’
Just three days after Maisie Schmidt was taken to a hospital as her cold symptoms worsened, the 4-year-old girl was taken off life support, her Ohio family said.
The death of Maisie stunned her loved ones, who said in a GoFundMe they were in “disbelief.”
“For those of you who were blessed by knowing Maisie you would know how caring, smart, fun and loving she was,” her aunt and uncle, Ashley and Mike Brigadier, said in the GoFundMe. “She exhibited the best traits you could ask for out of a person.”
Maisie’s parents, who are from Strongsville, Ohio, took her to urgent care when she was experiencing a stuffy nose and a cough, her father, Patric Schmidt, told WOIO.
When she began feeling lethargic on Saturday, March 23, Maisie was taken to a Strongsville hospital, Patric Schmidt told WOIO. Soon after, she was admitted into a Cleveland children’s hospital.
“We just thought it was a common cold and that we’d be taking her home the same day, never thought we’d be down here,” Schmidt said in an interview with the station.
Her grandmother, Tammy McConnaughy, described Maisie’s illness as a “mystery” in her first of several Facebook posts detailing her granddaughter’s stay in the hospital. She said doctors felt Maisie could have had a viral infection, as she tested negative for COVID-19, flu, pneumonia and RSV.
By Sunday, Maisie was intubated as doctors continued to try to figure out what caused her condition to worsen, her grandmother said. The infection spread from her lungs throughout her body, leading to her bleeding from her lungs.
Tests revealed Maisie had human metapneumovirus, which presents similar symptoms to a cold, McConnaughy said. While the virus is common, young children “with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk for serious illness,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“A war started in her body and (is) trying to take her away from us,” her grandmother said Sunday.
Maisie’s condition continued to deteriorate and she underwent multiple surgeries, according to her family.
“It’s one thing after another, this virus attacking her. It’s attacking all her organs,” McConnaughy said. “She’s on machines for breathing. On machines to do the work for her lungs and heart for her. Her kidneys are sitting down, she’s needing dialysis. The list just goes on.”
Doctors learned Monday that Maisie suffered a stroke on “the whole right side of her brain,” her grandmother said. It caused her right-side brain to push toward the left side.
She had “a large section of her cranium” removed, which family members wrote in the GoFundMe was “necessary to save her life.”
Family members and medical professionals continued to have hope Maisie could recover. But at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 26, she was removed from life support, according to WOIO.
“There was simply nothing more that could be done,” family told the station.
Schmidt described his daughter as “one of the most lovable people you’ll ever meet.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2024 at 7:57 AM with the headline "4-year-old girl dies as cold symptoms worsen, family says. ‘A war started in her body’."