When Maple Ridge resident Zo毛 Olson woke up with body aches on Tuesday, April 27, she thought she was coming down with the flu, but nothing more.

Even so, when the 19-year-old woke up with a fever the next morning, she made her way to the COVID-19 testing sight to make sure.

She got her results from the Centre for Disease Control the following day: negative.

However, her condition went from bad to worse.

sa国际传媒淚t went from a fever to nauseousness, to extreme body aches, to extreme nauseousness,sa国际传媒� explained Olson.

When she woke up Sunday morning she was having a difficult time breathing.

Little did she know she was suffering from a rare complication from COVID-19: multi-system inflammatory syndrome, MIS-C.

sa国际传媒淚 didnsa国际传媒檛 really want to take her to the hospital because it was just the flu,sa国际传媒� said her father, Joel Olson, explaining that they didnsa国际传媒檛 think it was anything more because of the negative COVID-19 test.

But on Sunday the heart rate alarm went off on Olsonsa国际传媒檚 smart watch.

Her father asked her what the monitor recorded and Olson said 120 beats per minute. So he double checked her pulse and discovered it was actually at 130 beats per minute.

sa国际传媒淪he had chest pain, she had trouble breathing, she had a high heart rate, and when I Googled that it said go to the hospital immediately,sa国际传媒� he continued.

They went straight to Ridge Meadows Hospital emergency where only Olson was allowed in. There she was given another COVID-19 test and various blood tests and received intravenous fluid. She would have to text her parents periodically to keep them updated to her condition.

sa国际传媒淲e were lucky because she was able to text us and kind of give us updates. We were pretty, kind of in the loop. But she still had all the IVsa国际传媒檚 in her arm, she had this huge IV in her neck that went to her heart,sa国际传媒� said her father.

sa国际传媒淪hesa国际传媒檚 texting that theresa国际传媒檚 five doctors standing outside my curtain trying to figure out whatsa国际传媒檚 wrong with me,sa国际传媒� he added.

Again, her COVID test came back negative.

Then doctors decided to take some X-rays of her organs and discovered they were inflamed.

They thought maybe it was appendicitis, but with her blood pressure being low and her heart rate high, doctors determined her symptoms matched most of the symptoms listed for MIS-C sa国际传媒� a condition mostly seen in children who have contracted COVID-19 where, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sa国际传媒� different body parts become inflamed including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.

The syndrome, rare in children, even more rare in adults, can be serious, even deadly, noted the CDC, but most children who have been diagnosed with this condition have become better with medical care.

Olson was sent to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. Her parents met her as she was being transferred into the ambulance.

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sa国际传媒淲e didnsa国际传媒檛 know at Royal Columbian if wesa国际传媒檒d be allowed to see her. We went to the parking lot and stood outside the door so that when they wheeled her out to the ambulance we could see her,sa国际传媒� explained her father.

As they watched her go, paramedics turned the lights and sirens on as they headed towards Lougheed Highway on Laity Street.

sa国际传媒淭hat was probably the scariest part,sa国际传媒� said Dad, because they werensa国际传媒檛 expecting her to be rushed there.

At Royal Columbian, doctors ran more tests, including a test of her antibodies and they figured out that Olson had contracted COVID up to a month before. So they immediately began treating her for MIS-C.

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With negative COVID results, her parents were allowed to visit.

sa国际传媒淚 was pretty tired for most of it. I slept a lot,sa国际传媒� said the teen who has since been released from hospital.

They treated her from Sunday to Friday, the first few days in the intensive care unit where she was put on oxygen and hooked up to heart monitors.

sa国际传媒淪he was pretty drugged up for most of the time I think for the pain,sa国际传媒� said her father.

Olson was released from hospital on Friday, May 7, and still feels a little tired and weak.

She is also nervous there will be some long-term effects.

However, doctors are continuing to monitor her to make sure her organs donsa国际传媒檛 become inflamed again and that her heart is in good shape.

Her next appointment is in two weeks.

When Olson is given the OK she will be getting her vaccine, something she is very much looking forward to.

sa国际传媒淩ight now since my immune is so down, it wouldnsa国际传媒檛 be fully effective,sa国际传媒� she explained.

And she is encouraging others to get the vaccine as well sa国际传媒� to avoid ending up in hospital like she did.