12-year-old Covington girl survives coronavirus and a heart attack

When Juliet Daly came down with stomach pain and a fever, her parents were concerned enough to have her brought to the Pediatric Emergency Department at St. Tammany Health System’s main Covington campus. There, the 12-year-old Juliet suffered a heart attack. Only after she was resuscitated did doctors confirm she had a case of COVID-19. (STHS archive photo)

By STHS Communication Department

You’ve seen the newspaper stories. There have been too many of them to ignore: Stories about aging members of our community claimed by the COVID-19 coronavirus.

This isn’t one of those stories.

This one’s about a 12-year-old Covington girl, Juliet Daly, who suffered a heart attack that doctors say was caused by a coronavirus infection – and who was revived in St. Tammany Health System’s Pediatric Emergency Department.

“I died and came back,” Juliet is quoted as having said in a recent feature story by The Associated Press and published on NOLA.com, among other websites.

Juliet’s mother, Dr. Jennifer Daly, a fellowship-trained breast specialist at STHS Women’s Pavilion, recalled what was going through her mind at the time: “She’s the sweetest girl. She’s the sweetest girl in the whole world. And she does not deserve this. And I was praying to God ... just please, please help, please help me.”

Initially, Jennifer Daly said, she thought Juliet was suffering from appendicitis or some type of stomach problem, given that she was showing symptoms not generally associated with COVID-19: stomach pain, vomiting, cold limbs.

Juliet was brought to the Pediatric Emergency Department at STHS. There, Juliet suffered a heart attack and, after being resuscitated, was airlifted to Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, a partner institution of STHS and its pediatric intensive care unit.

She ended up spending four days on a ventilator before recovering and being discharged April 15 – a decidedly happy ending to what started out as a mother’s worst nightmare.

“All she remembers is daddy telling her she’s going to go to sleep. ‘They’re going to put a tube down your throat. You’re gonna go on a helicopter ride. You’re gonna wake up in a new hospital and mommy will be there’” said Jennifer. “Well, that’s what happened.”

Read Juliet’s full story at APnews.com.