CROFTON, Md. — People with mild COVID symptoms generally get better in about two to four weeks but for some the recovery period can last several months.
While the effects of COVID might not be as severe in children, kids are not immune from suffering long-lasting symptoms.
WMAR-2 News spoke with a 15-year-old girl who is still coping with the effects of COVID, ten months after contracting the virus.
Many people long for a return to what life was like before COVID hit, but for Miya Walker, it means a full recovery from her symptoms and being able to do what she loves to do most once again…to dance.
Miya Walker said “it's kind of of like a loss. And, hard to deal with emotionally and mentally because it's something I’m so used to and passionate about. Just having to stop doing it randomly in the middle of the year, is definitely just very...a weird feeling to deal with.”
The coronavirus took away Miya's energy and ability to dance.
Miya’s mother Maisha Walker said “there are sometimes where I’ll have to jump in and do her dishes, because all of a sudden she's exerted too much energy, and she says mom, I have to lay down.”
Maisha Walker said the virus is something the entire family has had to deal with for nearly a year.
“We're a family of five, and my son was sick first. He got tested. He was tested positive. So, we were in quarantine for a couple of weeks, our whole family. And then, my husband was positive, and then it went to my daughter,” Maisha Walker said.
That was in June of 2020, it's now April 2021. Miya got over from COVID but still has the symptoms.
“My asthma has been worse. I am very tired all the time. I take a lot of naps, and I get very dizzy when I do any kind of exercise, or really just exert a lot of energy. That will all happen at least once a month for a week,” Miya Walker said.
“She's been dealing with her asthma since she was a baby, but the heart issue, with the rapid heartbeat she just started really feeling after COVID,” Maisha Walker said.
Pediatric neurologist Dr. Laura Malone said “for most children, they do have a relatively mild illness that lasts one to two weeks, then get back to their usual selves, but for a small subset of patients, the symptoms persist and they can actually be relatively debilitating.”
Dr. Malone is a doctor at the Kennedy Krieger Institute Pediatric Post COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinic. It's one of a select few clinics in the country, dedicated to treating children with what's known as long-haul symptoms.
“We're finding that some children that are experiencing these persistent symptoms were high-functioning, previously healthy children as well. So, it's not just children with pre-existing conditions. So, I think that it's important that everyone be aware that this can occur and if they feel like their child is having symptoms for more than a month to reach out and get support,” Malone said.
“When we first made an appointment with them, our first appointment, I was so impressed. They had several doctors come in, a neurologist, a social worker, we had physical therapy, they all did lots of tests, and evaluations,” Maisha Walker said.
All things both doctors and the walkers hope will bring Miya closer to getting her life back on the right foot.
“Because my school has been all virtual, we're just getting back to hybrid, but we've all been missing out a lot. So, we're all very eager to go back to school once this is all over and i'm really eager to go back to dance,” Miya Walker said.
While families are still dealing with COVID it's also allergy season. Click here to learn about the different symptoms.
