‘It was a miracle.’ See boy with cystic fibrosis leave hospital after surviving COVID

Noah Schneider, 5, had been hospitalized several dozen times in his young life. But when he was checked into Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento in December it was different: He had the coronavirus.

Noah was born with cystic fibrosis — an inherited disease that damages the lungs and other organs — which made him at greater risk of developing serious illness from COVID-19 once he was infected.

“For a while we didn’t know what was going to happen,” said mother Haley Schneider of Yuba City. “A week in, he just got worse.”

But Noah eventually turned a corner and was released from Sutter on Monday.

Along the journey, a request for stickers to brighten Noah’s hospital stay went viral and 2,500 Amazon packages and numerous letters arrived at the hospital, Haley said.

“It’s very overwhelming but we’re so thankful,” she said, indicating the family has given many of the donations to the hospital’s Child Life Program.

“He’s so excited to see his brothers and sisters,” Haley said. “He’s ready to go home.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.