Tri-State boy hospitalized with mystery illness during family trip to Disney World

ORLANDO, Fla. (WXIX) – A Butler County couple’s planned family vacation took an unexpected turn when their 12-year-old son ended up in the hospital, leaving them with more questions than answers.

According to Vanessa Baker, her son Kameron suddenly became sick on Oct. 7, while the family was on vacation in Florida visiting Disney World. He has now been at the children’s hospital in Orlando for several weeks.

“He can have his little temper. He’s autistic, but he is the best little boy,” Kameron’s grandmother, Tonya Metcalf, said.

Vanessa said the illness started with symptoms of the common cold and escalated to Kameron being sedated and put on a ventilator. Kameron has asthma, but it is not clear if that has affected his current condition.

“We’ve had good days. We’ve had bad days,” she said. “There’s been days where I just cry just to cry.”

Doctors, Vanessa said, told her and her husband that Kameron tested positive for the flu and negative for COVID-19, although he does have COVID antibodies.

“They’re treating him as ARDS, which is acute respiratory distress syndrome, and they said he is a candidate potentially for MIS-C… It’s like a multi-inflammatory syndrome,” Vanessa said. “There’s no real answers or anything that they’ve came up with to know how or what made this happen.”

Vanessa and her husband are in Florida at Kameron’s bedside. Kameron’s two siblings are back in Ohio, staying with a relative.

Vanessa said doctors believe Kameron could return home by Thanksgiving, but it may be much longer.

“Even if you think it’s the common cold, at least go get them checked out because I honestly thought it was strep throat… and it’s completely turned everything around,” she said.

The community is showing support for the family through a GoFundMe page.

Loved ones are also collecting donations for Kameron and his siblings, just in case they are unable to celebrate a typical Christmas this year.

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