Only days after doctors said their four-year-old daughter had a “common cold,” an Ohio couple is now planning to bury the little girl, who only wanted “everyone to love her just like she loves everyone else.”
Maisie Schmidt – who had a common virus that became deadly when it refused to loosen its tight grip – was placed in a medically induced coma while doctors worked against the clock to save her life. But then the preschooler suffered a massive stroke and died on March 26.
“There was simply nothing more that could be done,” her parents said of their heart-shattering decision to let their daughter go. Keep reading to learn more about the tragic ending to this beautiful girl.
In late March, Maisie’s parents – Christin Brigadier and Patric Schmidt – rushed her to the doctors when she started sniffling and coughing. Her dad Patric, of Strongsville, Ohio, told Cleveland 19, “We got told it was just a common cold, just take her home, lots of fluids and things of that nature.”
Believing the medical experts who advised that her illness wasn’t serious, the parents took her back home. But by March 23, Maisie was lethargic, her health dramatically declining, prompting her concerned mom and dad to take her to emergency.
“Maisie made a trip to the hospital with what everyone thought would be an in and out visit,” her uncle Michael Brigadier writes in a GoFundMe, created to support Maisie, her big brother and her parents.
‘It’s grabbed a hold of Maisie’
But things quickly took a turn for the worse and the little girl was left “fighting for her life” on “multiple forms of life support in order to give her body a fighting chance to come back from the human metapneumovirus [hMPV].”
The Cleveland Clinic describes hMPV as a virus, similar to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the flu, “that usually causes symptoms similar to the common cold.”
Commonly, the infection occurs by the age of five and presumably, patients undergo a full recovery, which sadly was not the case for little Maisie.
“It’s grabbed a hold of Maisie and isn’t letting go,” writes Brigadier.
‘Torn to shreds’
Maisie was then taken to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital where was put into a medically induced coma.
“It’s not what you expect,” her dad said. “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.”
By March 24, Maisie was intubated, and doctors continued life-saving measures to help her win what her grandmother calls “the war” that “started in her body.”
“[Parents] are torn to shreds,” Tammy McConnaughy writes on Facebook. Begging for support from the community, McConnaughy – who calls her granddaughter “Pocket” – continues, “Please everyone prayers prayers prayers For our Maisie to stay stable and we get good brews for all tests and her body just needs more time to heal and get back to us (SIC).”
‘One of the most lovable people’
And then on March 25, doctors discovered the preschooler suffered a stroke.
“She went in for a CT scan they said that there was some bleeding on the brain, so they wanted to get a scan of that and in the process of doing so they found that she actually had a very large stroke on the right side of her brain,” her father said.
The little one was then taken in for brain surgery and according to Patric, part of her brain was so swollen it had to be removed to hopefully save Maisie’s life.
At the time, her parents were told that Maisie would stay hooked up to life support machines and stay in a medical-induced coma for “several months,” which was a great potential outcome.
“She is one of the most lovable people that you’ll ever meet,” Patric shared, hoping to soon take her home. “She’s so smart and so willing to help anyone and she wants everyone to love her just like she loves everyone else.”
‘Maisie passed away’
On March 26, her family delivered a statement to Cleveland 19, saying “There was simply nothing more that could be done.”
Maisie was taken off life support.
Meanwhile, Brigadier offered an update of the little girl he describes as “caring, smart, fun and loving.”
He writes on the GoFundMe page, that as of March 27 raised more than $26,500 of its $15,000 goal, “I wish I could deliver a happy ending to this story. I wish I knew the right words to say to ease my loved ones pains and all those who were touched by Maisie.” He continues, “Around 11am today Maisie passed away. Typing these words hours after are still so surreal. I’m in disbelief that this could happen to such a sweet family.”
Brigadier adds, “I am so proud to be your Uncle Maisie and I’ll never forget what I have learned from you.”
RIP little Maisie. We wish family and loved ones the very best in their time of healing from this tragic loss.
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