Mother releases shocking images of daughter, 13, in hospital as she battles Kawasaki-like inflammatory disease that she fears was caused by coronavirus

A mother has released shocking pictures of her teen daughter fighting an inflammatory disease she believes was caused by Covid-19.

Grace Havens, 13, was hospitalised in Gloucestershire after developing a red rash, severe pain and inflamed organs.

She was later diagnosed with Henoch-Schönlein Purpura (HSP), which has similar symptoms to Kawasaki Disease.

The childhood inflammatory syndrome is a secondary condition triggered by an initial illness and up to 100 cases reported across the country since April, amid concerns it is linked to coronavirus.

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Grace Havens, 13, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, suffered from an inflammatory illness in hospital which her mother Rachel Havens, 47, believes she developed as a result of Covid-19

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After initially developing symptoms on February 28, Grace was admitted to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital after developing a rash on March 5. After losing a stone in four weeks, she was fed both nasally and through total parenteral nutrition (TPN)

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Her parents, event planner Rachel Havens and psychological therapist Justin Havens, 52, believe 'fun and energetic' Grace developed Henoch-Schönlein Purpura (HSP) as a result of coronavirus. They are waiting for an antibody test to confirm this

Her mother, event planner Rachel Havens, 47, believes her daughter developed HSP as a result of Covid-19.

Rachel and her husband, psychological therapist Justin Havens, 52, are waiting for an antibody test to confirm this.

The couple from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire are speaking out to spread awareness of this possible secondary illness.

The mother-of-three said: 'I personally believe Covid-19 is responsible for the severity of it.

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Doctor's initially though Grace was suffering from appendicitis after she returned from school complaining of a sore stomach and temperature in February

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Mother-of-three Rachel personally believes Covid-19 is responsible for the severity of Grace's illness

'It won't change anything for Grace - at the end of the day, I believe she had it, but it's not going to change anything because we are where we are.

'I think what's happening is children are getting coronavirus mildly but it's triggering this extra awful inflammatory syndrome in them.'

'Fun and energetic' Grace returned from school complaining of a sore stomach and temperature on February 28.

Following two visits to the GP, Grace was sent to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital Children's Center with suspected appendicitis. 

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Children with the illness are usually taken to hospital with a high fever that has lasted a number of days and severe abdominal pain. The most seriously ill may develop sepsis-like symptoms such as rapid breathing and poor blood circulation

Doctors were unable to find a cause and sent her home before she developed a rash on March 5 and was admitted to hospital for four weeks.

Grace was given morphine, fentanyl and paracetamol for the pain while doctors treated her sickness and rash.

After losing a stone in four weeks, she was fed both nasally and through total parenteral nutrition (TPN).

She spent a further three weeks at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children after blood was found in her stool.

Since, she's developed a chronic kidney condition called Crescentic Nephritis - her kidneys are continuing to leak high levels of protein and remain inflamed.

Rachel said: 'We are extremely grateful to the NHS for the fact that our daughter is now safe and recovering well at home.

'While we are told the majority of children will be unharmed by Covid-19, there appear to be a number who are randomly but severely affected.

'This is why I felt we should share our daughter's story, with the aim of raising awareness in the hope that as science progresses, less lives will be affected.'

Up to 100 children in the UK are known to have developed a rare inflammatory syndrome caused by COVID-19 since the beginning of April.

All the children treated for this inflammatory disease so far had been healthy before they caught the coronavirus, according to Dr Liz Whittaker. 

Dr Whittaker is a paediatrician at Imperial College Healthcare in London and has herself treated children with the illness, which has been likened to Kawasaki disease.

She said they are not showing signs of 'typical' Covid-19 infection and it was not obvious why some children were worse affected than others.

Dr Whittaker said: 'To date, the children have not had underlying comorbidities [illnesses] that we have identified.

'We are gathering that information through a surveillance study that [is] happening both in the UK and internationally, but so far there isn't anything in particular that we can comment on from that perspective.'

Scientists do not fully understand how the virus affects young people and fewer than 500 children have been hospitalised because of it in Britain since the outbreak began, according to one top paediatrician.

That compares to tens of thousands of adults, many of whom have died - 12 people under the age of 20 have died with Covid-19 in England so far, out of a total of 23,953.

However, doctors revealed last week that dozens of children, most aged between five and 15 years old, have become seriously ill with the condition that seems to appear up to a month after catching the coronavirus.

They say it is extremely rare and does not appear to have directly killed anyone in Britain but can lead to intensive care for a small proportion of those who get it. 

At least 18 children in London have been diagnosed with it since doctors first started noticing the syndrome last month.

Most troubling for experts is that the illness is almost definitely caused by Covid-19 in some way but scientists can't prove it.

The young patients' lungs are not affected by it, unlike in adults where the coronavirus's main target is the lungs, and many test negative when they are swabbed for the disease.

All of the patients studied so far, however, have tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies, meaning they have been exposed to the virus in the past. 

Scientists now believe it could be the consequence of the immune system overreacting after it has fought off the coronavirus infection, causing a second illness weeks later.

The same illness has been seen in Italy and China and around 100 children are known to have been diagnosed with it in New York.