STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — On any given day, it was probably a safe bet that you’d find 4-year-old Maisie Schmidt singing along to her favorite artist, Taylor Swift, in her Strongsville home. With a toy microphone in hand and the singer’s Era’s Tour playing on the TV, Maisie would belt out the lyrics.
“As she was watching the Eras Tour, she looked at her mom and she said, 'I’m going to be famous like her someday,’” said her father Patric Schmidt.
Maisie’s favorite hobbies included singing, dancing, swimming, roller skating, and playing with her 8-year-old brother Canaan.
“From the get go, she’s been very empathetic, very loving, very caring,” Patric said.
But from an early age, her parents also noticed she would get sick frequently. Patric recalled how from when she was about a year and a half old, they would take her to different doctors to try to figure out what was wrong.
“When she got sick, she got sick. It wasn’t normal for her. We would take her outside and she’d be running for five minutes and she’d be breathing heavy, she’d be really red in the face, it didn’t seem normal from other kids her age and everything. So we were always taking her in,” he said. “She was on and off amoxicillin quite a bit for her sicknesses, but every time, they would just send us home and say ‘there’s nothing wrong with her.’ But of course, me and mom, we thought differently because of the signs that we were seeing with her.”
“They didn’t listen to me at all,” said her mother Christian Brigadier. “She was just sick all the time, I have so many notes in my phone trying to figure it out, and we never did figure it out. I really wish we would have.”
Last week, Maisie had cold symptoms, so her parents took her to urgent care. She tested negative for strep, which her brother had recently had, and went home. The next day, when she woke up with a bad cough, her parents took her to the emergency room. Patric says there, she got worse, throwing up in the ER, and going on oxygen. She was transferred to University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, where she was intubated, and ultimately put on ECMO.
“We were hoping for the best. We continued saying she’s going to get better, she’s going to get better,” Patric said.
On Tuesday, Maisie passed away.
Patric said she had the Human Metapneumovirus, which causes symptoms similar to a cold. Then she developed staph and pneumonia in the hospital, and suffered a stroke.
“The way the doctors put it, this is very, very rare for this to happen,” Patric said.
“Such a sweet angel,” said grandmother Tina McConnaughy. “It’s just so hard to believe that someone is taken so fast.”
Now, Maisie’s parents are sharing their story to encourage other families to advocate for their children, especially when it comes to matters of health, and to provide a reminder to cherish their time together.
“Don’t take any moments for granted. There’s been plenty of times where I myself have become upset with my kids and just to have this as the final chapter in her life, it’s not fair. Don’t take anything for granted. If you’re getting upset with your kids, I promise you, it’s not that serious,” Patric said. “You don’t want to be sitting in the same seat as me today.”
Both parents expressed frustrations over the lack of answers they received about their daughter’s health over the years.
“Nobody knows your own kids more than you do. Make sure to keep a close eye on them,” Patric said.
Now, the family will undergo genetic testing, hoping to find answers.
A GoFundMe was started to help pay for Maisie’s medical bills and her funeral. Patric said excess funds raised would go towards things like Canaan’s college fund, or a charity helping other families in similar positions.
The family expressed gratitude for the support they have received from the community, and the attention Maisie’s story has garnered.
“Anyone that ever met Maisie said she is just so great, so loving, so caring, and that they just love her so much,” Patric said.
The family is organizing an open showing for Maisie at Busch Funeral and Crematory Services in Parma on Friday, April 5 from 10 a.m. to noon.