PALO ALTO, Calif. (KRON) — Stanford University student Rob Smith, 22, used to run five miles a day to stay in shape. Today, he struggles to walk up a set of stairs or hang out with friends.
He has suffered from brain fog and extreme fatigue ever since he was infected with COVID-19 in September of 2020. His lingering, life-restricting symptoms are called “long-haul COVID.”
One of the mysteries that remain unsolved about the virus is why it impacts the human body differently from one person to the next.
Medical researchers know that the virus kills or severely sickens more patients who are elderly or have underlying medical complications.
Young and physically fit patients suffering from long-haul COVID are sharing their personal stories as a warning to other young adults who are unvaccinated.
“I’ve learned over the course of the past year that you should always value your personal health. This is especially needed among people who are refusing to get vaccinated. The trade-off between COVID and the vaccine is not even close,” Rob Smith said.
Twenty-six-year-old Isaiah Smith served in the U.S. Air Force and used to be able to “dance all day.” He was infected with COVID in November of 2020.
Now Isaiah Smith said it feels like there is an elephant sitting on his chest. Long COVID gives him chest pain, shortness of breath, heart palpitations, and extreme nausea.
“I used to be a healthy and strong member of the Air Force, and now I struggle to lift anything over five pounds. This has honestly been a very scary journey. I don’t want anyone else to experience what I’m going through,” Isaiah Smith said.
Former varsity soccer player Katelyn Van Dyke, 20, was diagnosed with COVID exactly a year ago.
She writes notes to herself throughout the day because she struggles to form new memories. She also suffers from long-term memory loss.
“I can’t remember things. I can no longer remember some things that happened even way before I got long COVID. I’ve seen pictures of my first few dates with my boyfriend, and I just have no recollection of any of those memories,” she said.
The three patients are trying to increase public awareness about the risks of not getting vaccinated through a campaign called “Voices of Long COVID.”
“I’m sharing my long COVID story so that you won’t have one to tell,” Van Dyke said.
A national survey conducted by Resolve to Save Lives found that one-third of Americans are unaware of long COVID.
“Long COVID is real. We don’t know enough about this condition yet,” Van Dyke said.
According to the California Department of Public Health, 25 percent of Californians are unvaccinated. Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are largely occurring among unvaccinated populations.
Even after witnessing what he’s been through, Isaiah Smith some of his own friends are still vaccine-hesitant.
“I tell them to talk to their doctor about getting the vaccine. They should avoid getting COVID at all costs because at the end of the day, they’re rolling the dice on what happens afterwards,” he said.
The long-term condition affects an uncertain number of survivors in a baffling variety of ways.
“We’re faced with a mystery,” said Dr. Francis Collins, chief of the National Institutes of Health.
There are a few working theories for what might be causing persistent symptoms. One theory is that the virus remains in the body at undetectable levels yet still causes tissue or organ damage. Or it overstimulates the immune system, keeping it from returning to a normal state. A third theory: Symptoms linger or arise anew when the virus attacks blood vessels, causing minute, undetectable blood clots that can wreak havoc throughout the body.
Dr. Steven Deeks, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California San Francisco, said researchers first need to create a widely accepted definition of the syndrome. Estimates are “all over the map because no one is defining it in the same way,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.