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California teen who contracted COVID-19 twice shows how dangerous the virus can be

Published Aug 19th, 2020 8:55PM EDT
Coronavirus News
Image: Leigh Prather/Adobe

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  • A 19-year old from California contracted the coronavirus for a second time after making an initial recovery.
  • The coronavirus worsened some existing heart conditions and he now finds himself battling to get healthy again.
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that the coronavirus can cause longterm health complications even in otherwise healthy patients who have recovered.

While some people can contract the coronavirus and not exhibit any symptoms at all, others quickly find themselves battling incredibly severe flu-like symptoms and, in some cases, struggling to stay alive. Though most serious coronavirus cases tend to involve older individuals — or folks with a history of smoking, obesity, or diabetes — the coronavirus can sometimes impact younger patients as well.

To this point, ABC Action News relays the story of William Bailey, a 19-year old from California who recovered from the coronavirus earlier this year only to contract it yet again a few weeks later. The coronavirus — which can aggressively attack any number of major organs — ravaged Bailey’s body, with doctors recently finding a hole in his heart along with other cardiovascular issues. Though some of his heart conditions already existed, Bailey’s ailments were made much worse by the coronavirus.

Before the coronavirus, Bailey’s mother Desiree Cady tells ABC that her son was relatively healthy and a member of his High School football team.

Bailey first tested positive for the coronavirus in June, with his mother noting that he experienced traditional flu-like symptoms, including cold sweats, a fever, and bouts of coughing.

The report adds:

After 14 days he was cleared. But weeks passed and Cady said her son wasn’t his normal self.

A doctor’s visit revealed he had lost 20 pounds. Hours later his feet started swelling.

That’s when Cady rushed him to the hospital.

“They explained to me that that was a sign of heart failure,” says Cady.

He tested positive for coronavirus again.

Bailey has since undergone one heart surgery and is now battling to get healthy once again.

Incidentally, Dr. Anthony Fauci recently cautioned that even people who recover from the coronavirus can experience symptoms sometimes weeks and months after the fact. Some of the symptoms which tend to linger most frequently include fatigue, cognitive issues, body aches, and fever. There are also reports suggesting that the coronavirus can have a longterm impact on an individual’s cardiovascular health.

To this end, there’s still a lot we don’t know about how the coronavirus could potentially impact survivors years down the line.

“In individuals who are young and otherwise healthy,” Fauci said, “who don’t require hospitalization but do get sick and symptomatic enough to be in bed for a week or two or three and then get better, they clear the virus – they have residual symptoms for weeks and sometimes months.”

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.