Healthy 21-Year-Old Had Mild COVID-19 Symptoms, Then Went Into Organ Failure

For 21-year-old Spencer Rollyson, COVID-19 hardly gave any symptoms when he first encountered it in May. He thought it was like the flu. But something worse followed.

Rollyson told CNN that he didn’t think much of it when he experienced only mild symptoms back in May. At first, COVID-19 seemed just like the flu or common cold to him and the mild symptoms lasted hardly a week. Weeks later, it was a life-threatening disease.

"I never thought, at 21, I would be on the verge of death. About a week and a half, two weeks later, I started feeling bad," he told CNN.

Rollyson was rushed to the emergency room with a 103.4-degree fever and his doctors ordered several tests like CT scans and chest X-rays to determine the root cause, he told CNN. Although it all came back clear, he was in the ICU within the next two days. In just 48 hours, he told CNN, that his organs started "declining rapidly."

Rollyson's experience is another reminder that the novel coronavirus is not to be taken lightly even though many youngsters show hardly any symptoms. There is still no clarity about how each individual will react to the virus.

A recent study reported that 90% of recovered patients continue to suffer from lung damages. Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been warning of the post-viral syndrome in people who recovered from COVID-19 where symptoms include extreme fatigue, brain fog, and difficulty concentrating.

In several COVID-19 cases, even previously healthy individuals have been facing long-lasting symptoms.

Rollyson’s doctors had informed him that his body went into a hyperactive mode trying to fight off the infection before he suffered heart failure, severe sepsis alongside acute respiratory failure.

Weeks after his recovery, Rollyson’s heart rate continues to be monitored and he is still under medications to manage his blood pressure levels.

His doctors have advised him to continue his medications for at least one more year.

"It almost took my life a month ago. So, it is not something to play around with. Just be safe, wear your masks, wash your hands. I can't urge it enough," CNN quoted Rollyson.