A young Elianna Grace, 4 years old, was enjoying her pool day at her grandparents’ house in Sarasota, Florida. She was playing with her “pool noodle” with her family for a while, when suddenly a horrific incident scared the family, who thought little Elianna would face a fatal end.
The parents are trying to tell Elianna’s story to as many people as they can, explaining there is something that could happen to any child called “dry drowning.” Elianna’s mother, Lacey Grace, explained her daughter was enjoying a fun game that every kid has played in their life.
The parents created a GoFoundMe campaign to help cover the “extensive amount of hospital bills” that the treatment for the condition that Elianna developed after the accident represents, having a set goal of $15,000.
A pool noodle
Little Elianna was playing with her family. She was blowing in one end of the pool noodle, where then somebody else would have to blow from the other side.
The chaos began when Elianna put her mouth on her side of the pool noodle while someone blew in the other end. It caused the water to shoot directly down her throat.
Elianna threw up right away. However, according to her GoFoundMe campaign description, nothing else happened then.
The little girl kept playing and carried on with her day. The morning after, Elianna was still doing fine. But finally, on Monday, the nightmare arrived.
The 4-year-old first developed a fever, and their parents thought it was normal. Ms. Grace claimed “kids get fevers… I didn’t think much.” On Tuesday, Elianna slept for the majority of the day. But still, she looked fine.
She was sent to school on Wednesday, and their parents got a call in the afternoon in which somebody explained that Elianna’s fever was back.
Diagnosis
As soon as they picked up Elianna, both parents took her to the hospital, since her mom remembered that she had read a story about a dad in Texas whose son had passed away because he did not get treated after swallowing a bunch of pool water.
Elianna’s heart rate was surprisingly high. Her oxygen was low, and her skin was turning purple. According to the mother, this meant that there was a chemical infection.
An X-ray showed inflammation and an infection caused by the pool chemicals. The treatment began right away.
Now, unfortunately, Elianna has aspiration pneumonia and is now on oxygen and relying on it to breathe. Her levels drop quickly when doctors try to take away the tubes. Her state is still unstable.
The doctors diagnosed Elianna with Chemical Pneumonitis, Aspiration Pneumonia, and Perihilar Edema.
Source: CBS News