Minneapolis boy hospitalized for the flu, family says they’re grateful for community’s support

As the flu season continues to hit hard across the United States, one area family is dealing with it first-hand.

The young boy is hospitalized because of it, and Katie Schroeder, his mother, along with the family, is now sharing his battle and the support they’ve been getting, which they’re hoping to pay forward.

It started a couple of weeks ago with a lingering cough, and it only took days for 10-year-old Peter Schroeder to take a turn for the worse.

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, Peter and his little brother both spiked fevers of 104 degrees and tested positive for Influenza-A.

The whole family got the flu, but Peter’s condition never improved.

On Thanksgiving night, he had a five-hour coughing fit.

His parents took him to the doctor, and after that, it seemed like he was getting better.

Days later though, his oxygen levels dropped, and he was rushed to the emergency room. Although he stayed in the hospital for a week, his oxygen levels weren’t stabilizing.

“We thought he was doing better and then Saturday — a week ago — they did an x-ray, and it was just… they call it a white out. The pneumonia had spread to both lungs, and he had a pneumothorax, which is where you get a leak in your lungs,” said Katie Schroeder, Peter’s mother.

That caused Peter’s lung to collapse, and doctors decided he needed to be intubated.

“That’s when they said we need to make the decision to intubate him. he can’t cough up the stuff that’s in there. It’s too painful for him,” added Katie. “We need to put him on a machine where he can sleep and where we can help get that stuff out.”

Peter has been on a ventilator since early last week, and his doctors say he’s slowly getting better. They’re also working on weaning him off the machine, adding they think he will make a full recovery.

The whole experience has been terrifying for his family, and Katie wants to thank the community that has rallied around them.

A GoFundMe page raised more than $40,000 to help pay for medical expenses.

Now, the Schroeder family wants to return the favor and help other kids in need.

“The community has really shown up, and we are overwhelmed. Not everyone has the support and network and the community support that we have received. I would just ask that people consider supporting their local children’s hospital, or Children’s Minnesota, so that they have ways to get financial support to families who need it,” said Katie.

The Schroeder family says they can’t thank the team at Children’s Minneapolis enough for caring for their son. They’re hoping he’ll come off the ventilator Tuesday.

Family members say as if the whole ordeal wasn’t hard enough, Peter had to go through this all on his tenth birthday.

“Peter was so sad when he found out he was going to miss his birthday. That was really so sad. The doctors, nurses and team, they sang happy birthday to him on rounds and they joked about mashing up cake and putting it through his feeding tube for him, which of course they didn’t do,” said Kaite.

Medical staff decorated his hospital room, and Peter’s birthday presents will be waiting for him when he is able to get off the ventilator.