Like most 17-year-olds, Christian Davila and his friends figured they were invincible. They certainly weren鈥檛 worried about COVID-19.

鈥淲e saw it as, 鈥極h, we鈥檙e young. Our bodies can fight it off easier than others,鈥欌�� said Christian, of Little River, South Carolina.

His father, Anthony Rainey, was also unafraid. 听听

鈥淭o be honest, when this first came out, I thought it was a joke. I鈥檓 not going to lie,鈥� he said, sitting by Christian鈥檚 bedside.

But with Christian鈥檚 three-week stay at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children鈥檚 Hospital, including a couple of weeks on a ventilator, father and son know all too well how serious COVID-19 is. They each received their first dose of the vaccine this week, and they鈥檙e encouraging others to get vaccinated as well. In fact, some of Christian鈥檚 friends have already gotten the vaccine as have Rainey鈥檚 co-workers.

鈥淧eople want to imagine that previously healthy children can鈥檛 get sick with COVID, can鈥檛 get severely ill with COVID, can鈥檛 die from COVID, and that鈥檚 simply not true,鈥� said chief of pediatric critical care medicine. 鈥淐hristian is an example of that, and I am so grateful to them for all that they have done already in the community. Even though they鈥檝e been going through this themselves, they鈥檝e thought about other people all along the way.鈥�

Christian became ill in August after an outing with friends. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Aug. 16. At first, he had extremely high fevers that wouldn鈥檛 come down. After about a week, when he started experiencing shortness of breath and chest pain, his parents took him to the local hospital. After a few days, he was transferred to another hospital and then SJCH.

Because the rest of the family had COVID, too, they couldn鈥檛 visit Christian. Instead, they had to get updates on his condition through phone calls. When Rainey was cleared to visit and he walked into his son鈥檚 room for the first time, to see Christian hooked up to tubes and a ventilator, his heart just dropped, he said.

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Not only have Christian鈥檚 lungs been affected, he said, but the disease has also affected his liver and kidneys. And even once Christian is released from the hospital, they don鈥檛 know what future damage may show up because of COVID, he said.

鈥淔or any parent, you don鈥檛 want to see this. You don鈥檛 want your child to be here,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s a parent, you feel like you failed.鈥�

Rainey said he鈥檚 watched the staff caring for his son and other children on the floor, and he would never want to be in their shoes.

鈥淚 have witnessed firsthand that these doctors and nurses are all hands on deck, at all times. You don鈥檛 just have one doctor. You don鈥檛 just have one nurse. You have a whole team here that will do anything they can to help,鈥� he said.

Unfortunately, said Mack, we are not on the other side of this COVID surge.

鈥淭his has been the roughest week so far of the pandemic for children in this state,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are not seeing the virus abating, in terms of severity of illness in children.鈥�

The South Carolina Children鈥檚 Hospital Collaborative reported that, as of Sept. 16, there are 36 children in the four children鈥檚 hospitals in the state. Of those, only one is vaccinated. Of the remaining 35, 60% are old enough to be vaccinated, and 40% are under 12 years old and therefore ineligible for the vaccine. Of the 36 children, 16 are in intensive care and six are on ventilators.

None of the children hospitalized at MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children鈥檚 Hospital over the course of the pandemic has been vaccinated, Mack said. Of note, about half were of age to be eligible for the vaccination.

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Christian is making good progress in his recovery. Just a few days ago, his labored breathing prevented him from saying more than a word or two at a time. Now he can speak in sentences again. He鈥檚 working with physical therapists and occupational therapists who are helping him to take on ordinary tasks like walking. What he鈥檇 like more than anything is to be home in his own bed, he said.

Rainey urged people to get vaccinated. It鈥檚 not a cure, he said, but it will reduce the symptoms and hopefully prevent people from being in his son鈥檚 position.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 wish this on anybody. I really don鈥檛,鈥� he said.