Miraculous Marie

To a casual observer, Marie Lance looks and acts the part of a typical, healthy 11 year old. She skips through her grandmother's Clay County home, eager to show off containers of her toy "slime" and the art she has made through her newfound painting hobby.

There is little reason to suspect that Marie is only weeks removed from spending 31 days in a Tennessee hospital — including her 11th birthday — fighting for her life against COVID-19.

"You don't ever know real fear until you're faced with that situation with your child," said Wesley Lance, Marie's father. "It was to the point where doctors were talking about a lung transplant."

The past two months have been a whirlwind for the Lance family, starting soon after Marie was tested for COVID-19 on Sept. 4. Her condition worsened over the next week, and her father took her to Western Carolina Erlanger Hospital in Murphy on Sept. 11. Within 90 minutes of arriving at the facility, plans were being made to fly Marie by helicopter to T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga, Tenn.

"Right before they flew her out, they had the oxygen off her nose for about 30 seconds and her oxygen dropped down to 59," Wesley said. "They had to put it right back on."

A normal blood oxygen level typically ranges between 96-100. Fifty-nine is well below the threshold of what is considered life-threatening. Marie had developed pneumonia in both lungs and spent the vast majority of the next 31 days in the pediatric intensive care unit at T.C. Thompson.

"I would get upset about it," Marie said. "I didn't understand what was happening."

Anita Lance, her grandmother, said Marie required 100 percent oxygen for two and a half weeks, including time spent on a manual ventilator. Marie's condition showed little sign of improvement, and doctors had prepared the family for the possibility of more drastic measures.
"The lung doctor came in after he'd talked about a possible lung transplant, and he said, 'What we're going to do is give another round of the steroids and another round of the antibiotics,'" Wesley said. "He talked about it being like a Hail Mary."

This time, it worked. Within about a week, Marie's condition improved enough for her to be moved into a regular hospital room. A few days later, she was ready to go home.

"When she turned around, she turned around quickly," Wesley said.

Marie is now healthy enough to attend a half-day session at Clay County Schools and even ride her tricycle in the driveway outside her grandmother's house. She requires breathing treatments at night, when her oxygen can still dip into the mid-80s, and she wears a device that monitors her oxygen rate. Anita said upcoming doctor appointments will reveal whether or not Marie could have long-term damage from the virus.

"I took her to a pulmonologist last week in Asheville," Anita said. "He looked at the X-rays and he looked at her and said, 'You're mighty lucky you can sit here.'"

Anita was one of several family members to test positive for COVID-19, days after Marie became sick. The experience left a lasting effect on the family's day-to-day practices.

"I've been fully vaccinated and I'm still afraid to walk in the dollar store without a mask on," Wesley said. "When they say this thing is contagious, that's no lie."

Anita said she is a strong supporter of vaccines for children, after seeing what the virus did to her granddaughter. She becomes emotional recalling the experience of seeing Marie in a hospital bed, struggling for air.

"Anybody who doesn't want to give their kids a vaccine, they need to think about walking in and she's there talking to a nurse and trying to breathe and can't breathe, and she looks up and says, 'I can't do it anymore. I can't do it anymore,'" Anita said. "They need to think about what they could be putting their kids through."

Anita said the family is grateful for all of the community support and prayers they've received in recent weeks. Shortly before they knew Marie would be leaving the hospital, they purchased shelving for her room to help store the many items that had been donated.

Marie also received a birthday party during her stay in the hospital and another after she came home. Although the experience was a trying ordeal, she has happy memories, including getting to pour her toy slime on Dr. Gregory Talbott not once, but twice. The family praised all of the care Marie received while at T.C Thompson.

"I've seen advertisements for hospitals that say, 'Heroes work here,'" Wesley said. "They do at that one, for sure. She couldn't have been at a better place."