1 month ago
A seventh grader has shared his hellish conflict pinch agelong Covid - which has near him wheelchair-bound and connected dozens of meds.
Theo Huot de Saint-Albin, from Atlanta, Georgia, was 12 and different wholly patient erstwhile he caught nan microorganism successful July 2020 for nan first time.
His symptoms, which soon became debilitating, came connected 'directly after' his first Covid infection, and his symptoms person not improved overmuch since then.
He said he has suffered from changeless migraines for 4 years, fatigue truthful bad he has a difficult clip leaving nan couch, and symptom truthful bad he has been confined to a wheelchair astatine times.
Theo told Good Morning America: ‘Sometimes it's difficult to get group to judge you arsenic good because they tin empathize pinch thing they cognize is there. “Oh, you person a surgery leg, I tin spot that. Wow, you can't walk. That must beryllium tough.” But, your caput hurts? “I don't spot a large bulge connected your head. I don't spot bandages wrapped astir it.”’
Theo [shown] was misdiagnosed pinch Lyme disease, symptoms of which tin look for illustration agelong Covid. It took astir 2 years for Theo to get nan correct test successful 2022
Theo and his mother were relieved to yet get his diagnosis, which was initially said to beryllium lyme disease
He added: ‘For me, I person chronic migraines ... it doesn't mean nan migraine is unspeakable each day. It's very unpredictable. It goes successful waves. But it's ever there. It ne'er leaves.
Theo went connected to statement Covid different 3 times, but his agelong Covid symptoms were worse than nan infections themselves.
Long Covid has affected betwixt 18 and 23 cardinal Americans, immoderate of whom person experienced nan symptoms of long-covid, including encephalon fog and fatigue, years aft coming down pinch nan virus.
Covid infections are seldom terrible successful children, and agelong Covid successful that organization has not been seen astir arsenic often arsenic it has been successful adults.
Theo and his mother Meredith Eubanks said they couldn't moreover retrieve really galore doctors they saw looking for answers complete nan past 4 years. They were many times told by doctors that it was not a lawsuit of Long Covid, which is comparatively uncommon successful kids.
Theo and his mother traveled 600 miles to Baltimore to meet pinch pediatrics scientist Dr Laura Malone, according to Good Morning America.
Dr Malone had established nan Pediatric Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinic astatine nan Kennedy Krieger Institute, a children-focused wellness statement affiliated pinch Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Ms Eubanks said: ‘They were nan first spot we sewage to wherever they were like, 'Here's a database of symptoms, and did you person immoderate pre-COVID, and what did you person post-COVID?'"
‘I conscionable retrieve that was specified relief. It was conscionable like, 'Oh, you know, they're recognizing this and it's official, and Theo is not alone.”’
Theo was misdiagnosed pinch Lyme disease, symptoms of which tin look for illustration agelong Covid. It took astir 2 years for Theo to get nan correct test successful 2022.
Theo said that immoderate days he’s only capable to spell to schoolhouse for a half-day, and immoderate days he can’t move beyond nan couch: ‘There's nary existent measurement to show really I'm going to feel.
He besides suffers from symptoms for illustration musculus pain, utmost fatigue and encephalon fog, which has near him wheelchair bound astatine times.
Theo had a difficult clip astatine school, often needing to return half-days aliases enactment location nan full day
In summation to having a four-year migraine, Theo often couldn't time off nan sofa he was truthful fatigued
Dr Laura Malone [shown] established nan Pediatric Post-COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinic astatine nan Kennedy Krieger Institute, a children-focused wellness statement affiliated pinch Johns Hopkins Medicine
Theo was besides diagnosed pinch postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, aliases POTS, which is triggered erstwhile a personification stands up and nan bosom complaint spikes, causing lightheadedness, fainting, and accelerated heartbeat, which are relieved by lying down again.
Long Covid is simply a constellation of symptoms that look weeks and tin past years aft infection. The nonstop origin is not wholly understood but it's believed to consequence from persistent inflammation, immune disruptions, organ damage, and imaginable reactivation of nan microorganism successful nan body.
Dr Malone said: ‘Most children tin person a comparatively mild infection and past spell connected to create semipermanent sequela. So, that took a small spot of clip to admit and for patients to activity care, some from their superior attraction doctors and past besides from clinics for illustration us.’
‘We do spot that location tin beryllium a batch of resiliency successful children, and truthful contempt them sometimes possibly having nan symptoms, they whitethorn not ever bring it up to family members aliases doctors but alternatively conscionable effort and negociate nan symptoms, and it's only erstwhile it gets to beryllium intolerable that sometimes it will coming to much aesculapian care.’
There is nary diagnostic trial for agelong Covid, and doctors tin typically only dainty nan symptoms pinch medicines, beingness therapy, and counseling.
The superior extremity is to reconstruct a child’s expertise to spell to schoolhouse and support friendships.
Dr Malone said: ‘One of our large focuses is to effort to supply accommodations to get kids backmost into school, but meet them wherever they are, because they whitethorn not beryllium capable to do a afloat people load, aliases they whitethorn not beryllium capable to make it done nan afloat time of school.
‘But location is still use if they tin spell for an hour, and gradually summation that complete clip to getting them backmost into that benignant of routine, and getting them backmost into nan societal aspects of schoolhouse and nan acquisition aspects.’
The condition, which tin lead to slump and anxiety, tin exacerbate pre-existing intelligence illness.
Dr Ellen Henning, a pediatric scientist astatine nan Kennedy Krieger Institute, said: ‘"We study caller things perpetually and we set arsenic we arsenic we go.
‘We effort to supply nan champion supports that we tin and past we each are ever integrating caller knowledge and adjusting things arsenic we request to.’
