‘I thought I was going to lose him.’ Mom of Clovis teenager with COVID-19 recounts her ordeal
As he battled the ravages of COVID-19 from his hospital bed, gasping for breath through mucus-filled lungs, 16-year-old Frankie Quintana needed something to hold on to.
That something, or someone, was his mother.
“It’s like that feeling you have when you’re drowning and that water is coming in,” Joanique Quintana said. “You’re gasping to breathe and you can’t. You know how you try to hold on to something to save yourself or bring you above? He was doing that to me. He was holding me tight and looking for some kind of lifesaver.”
Frankie Quintana’s life is no longer in danger. His condition has improved to the point where doctors at Valley Children’s Hospital believe the Clovis High wrestler can soon leave the intensive care unit. But for several days before and since being admitted July 28, nothing was certain.
What began as a runny nose and other mild flu symptoms quickly escalated into a raging, 105-degree fever and fits of violent coughing that, at first, his mother and later medical professionals struggled to contain.
To help Frankie maintain regular breathing, doctors employed a BiPAP machine (not a ventilator) typically used to treat sleep apnea. At one point 60 liters of pure oxygen per minute were forced into the teenager’s lungs. Nurses told Joanique Quintana they’d never seen a pediatric patient require so much.
“The doctor even came to me and said she was really, really concerned for Frankie,” Joanique Quintana said. “And I just broke down crying because I thought I was going to lose him.”
Later that day, the doctor suggested to her that Frankie be given remdesivir, the first authorized therapeutic for COVID-19. She agreed, despite having concerns about the drug’s potential long-term side effects.
Need for plasma donations
Based upon her own observations, however, the most effective treatment has been convalescent plasma therapy — plasma donated by recovered COVID-19 patients containing antibodies that may fight the infection.
“It wasn’t until he received his plasma that we began to notice any change,” Joanique Quintana said. “The plasma, I believe, is what really saved him.”
Although published studies are inconclusive, Fresno County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said convalescent plasma therapy has been utilized in “a lot” of COVID-19 cases throughout the Central Valley.
“There is a lot of great information about the fact that recovered patients can create antibodies and those antibodies … can actually be used to help someone who is still struggling with the effects,” Vohra said.
Problem is, despite aggressive collection efforts by the Central California Blood Center, there isn’t enough supply of COVID convalescent plasma to meet the local demand.
According to Joanique Quintana, it took the staff at Valley Children’s Hospital two days to find a suitable donor for her son.
“That’s why it’s so important for people who had COVID and recovered from it to donate their plasma,” she added.
‘We keep our circle small’
How did Frankie Quintana contract the novel coronavirus in the first place?
His mother, who has a degree in health care administration and works for a home health-care provider, isn’t sure.
“We don’t know how Frankie got it — we’re trying to determine that,” Joanique Quintana said. “He doesn’t hang out with a lot of friends right now because of COVID, and we as family keep our circle real small.”
Frankie Quintana “is definitely a bigger kid” in the words of Clovis High wrestling coach Gabe Schaefer. The 16-year-old wrestles as a heavyweight. He stands 6 feet 1 and currently weighs 240 pounds, packing on a few extra during the pandemic because, in the words of Mom, “we’re not doing anything.”
Still, Joanique Quintana said her son has no pre-existing medical conditions that would make him more susceptible to the virus’ effects.
“Frankie is a perfectly healthy child, and this virus floored him,” she said. “This thing really does have an ugly face. It’s unfortunate that my son is going to be a lesson for many people.”
By her son’s bedside
Joanique Quintana has only left her son’s hospital room once over the past nine days, and that was only because doctors needed the room sterile to install a PICC line.
Otherwise, she’s been at Frankie’s bedside 24-7. She sleeps inside the room “on a nice lovely couch.”
“It really does help having another pair of eyes on him,” Joanique Quintana said. “All the nurses have told me that.”
The Clovis High wrestling community, including Frankie’s teammates, coaches and parents, are supporting the Quintana family by raising money for a Grubhub gift card on Mealtrain.com. Donations have reached $1,750 so far.
The worst is behind Frankie Quintana. He stood up on his own Monday and by Wednesday was able to take a few steps around his hospital room while chatting with mom.
Watching her otherwise healthy 16-year-old son nearly succumb to a deadly virus, Joanique Quintana survived her own ordeal.
Her advice to fellow parents who don’t want to end up in a similar situation?
“There’s no telling who gets sick,” she said. “Protect yourselves, protect your loved ones and if you’ve already had COVID, donate plasma.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 1:28 PM.
