DENVER (KDVR) — Fifteen-year-old Connor McPhilomy is undergoing multiple consecutive days of testing with specialists at National Jewish Health’s Pediatric Post COVID Clinic in Denver.
The high school sophomore is one of the COVID scouts being treated there. “It’s not just adults and older people who are affected by this,” Connor said.
Since January, the straight-A student has missed hundreds of classes. “I probably sleep about 16 hours a day,” he said.
Colorado was the largest participant in Pfizer vaccine trials for children ages 5-11
Connor went from high school baseball to a life of headaches, nausea, brain fog, extreme fatigue and breathing problems.
“A kick can now cause shortness of breath where he feels like he might pass out,” said Connor’s mother, Stephanie McPhilomy. “It’s hard to watch your kid be sick for almost a year and change his whole world,” she said.
dr. Nathan Rabinovitch leads the pediatric program that has treated approximately 20 children to date. “Symptoms can be serious in children. It happens less often than adults, but it can certainly happen,” he said.
COVID-19 rates were the same in 2020 as in Colorado November 2021
The doctor says National Jewish Health specialists work together to create a personalized plan for each young patient. “It’s important to have a program that lets you see the whole picture because it affects different parts of the body,” Rabinovitch said.
Pediatric long-term COVID is relatively rapid, but Rabinovitch and the McPhilomy family hope other children will be vaccinated to help protect against this possibility. “The aftereffects of COVID are real,” McPhilomy said.
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