A 16-year-old girl named Julie has died of coronavirus, becoming the youngest person in the world whose life was cut as a result of the pandemic.
Julie died on Wednesday night at a Paris children’s hospital, and her mother, Sabine said, “It’s unbearable. It was just a cough.”
The victim had started coughing about a week ago, and it had seemed mild at the time. She had taken a cough syrup and used inhalations, all to no avail.
Julie had started feeling shortness of breath and the coughing fit had become more frequent, leading to her mother taking her to a doctor this past Monday.
The medical practitioner had diagnosed an “acceptable” respiratory deficiency and had made the decision to call the Emergency Medical Service, but firemen had arrived instead.
Donning gloves, masks, and coveralls, they had taken Julie to the closest hospital in Longjumeau, Essonne (18km south of Paris). The patient had worn a paper mask underneath her oxygen mask.
Sabine had gone home and called the hospital a little later. She was told about a CT scan and some pulmonary opacities, and had been assured that it was “nothing serious.” A COVID-19 test was underway.
During the night, Julie had suffered respiratory inefficiency and was transferred to the Necker children’s hospital in Paris. Two further coronavirus tests were carried out.
On Tuesday, Julie was admitted to intensive care and when her parent came to visit her, the latter became anxious. The results of the last two COVID-19 tests had shown up negative (which was good news at the time).
“We started opening the bedroom door, the nurses no longer were wearing a gown, the doctor rose his thumb to tell me it’s okay”, Sabine recalled.
As it was already late, Sabine had to go back home as it seemed that the worst was over. She promised to return the following day.
That evening, she received a phone call; the result of the first test done at Longjumeau hospital had arrived, and Julie had tested positive for COVID-19. Her condition was deteriorating and she had to be intubated.
Sabine had found it hard to believe, telling herself that they were wrong. She wondered why the results had come so late. They had been told from the start that the virus doesn’t affect young people, and like everyone else, they believed it.
At around 00:30, another call had come, urging her to come quickly.
The General Director of Health, Professor Jerome Salomon, had announced Julie’s death. He also revealed that she had contracted a severe form of the virus which was extremely rare among young people.
