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- Will Grogan, 15, contracted COVID-19 in October and battled brain fog and fatigue for months.
- Returning to school and sports was difficult due to cognitive impairment and physical pain.
- Children and teens who contract COVID may appear to recover early on, only showing rebounding or persistent symptoms.
Will Grogan, a hardworking ninth grader, used to think that “napping is a waste of sunshine,” he told Pam Belluck for The New York Times.
But after contracting COVID-19 in October, he says he suffered from debilitating fatigue and brain fog that interfered with his schoolwork, sports and daily life.
Grogan told The Times he was so exhausted he could barely get out of bed for 35 days after falling ill. He had to sit in the shower to avoid passing out from dizziness. And when he finally returned to school, the material he had mastered before seemed totally unfamiliar to him.
The 15-year-old is one of many people struggling with lingering health issues from the coronavirus.
Boston Children’s Hospital Dr Molly Wilson-Murphy told The Times, based on her experience, that long-term COVID pediatric patients were not always typically hospitalized initially. Some appeared to make a full recovery, then rebounded with symptoms weeks later.
She said that even some patients she treated who started out with fairly mild illness had the potential to develop long-term symptoms.
Neurological disorders like fatigue, headaches, brain fog, and problems with memory and concentration are among the most common symptoms reported by long-haul travelers.
“Will I be able to be a good student again?” “
In biology class, Grogan said, he looked down at his work, convinced he had never seen it before. But his teacher reminded him that the day before he was answering questions about the material.
It wasn’t his only cognitive confusion, he said. In math class he said the numbers were floating off the page. He said he accidentally sprinkled French sentences on his English homework. After completing a story article days in advance, he said he forgot to return it.
“Am I going to be able to be a good student again? Because it’s really scary,” Grogan said, remembering thinking.
He said he was able to maintain good grades thanks to the flexibility of his teachers, but his symptoms did not fully resolve.
When he returned to tennis – a sport he used to excel at – six months after his infection, he said he found his hand-eye coordination was interrupted and his leg and chest ached.
“My idea of COVID before I had it was, you know what, if I get it, I’ll be done and I’ll have the antibodies and I’ll be good,” Grogan told The Times. “But oh, my God, I never want to go through this again. Never.”
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